Hometown Glory
by fancynewwhatever
Summary: A/U Finn Hudson is New York City's golden boy and most eligible bachelor. Now fresh out of college he is set to inherit his father's multimillion dollar company and to help with the job he hires a new quirky assistant by the name of Rachel Berry.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! So this is my first shot at writing fanfic, kind of nervous about it but i really hope you enjoy reading it as much as i did writing it. :) Also, the title of this story is a song by Adele off her album 19.**

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><p><strong>New York City – Upper East Side<strong>

The alarm clock blares throughout the room and a hand shoots out of the jumble of sheets and blankets and swiftly turns it off. Finn groans and stretches, deciding whether or not to sneak in a few more minutes of shut eye but he's scared of accidentally falling asleep for another hour like last week. He definitely did not need another scolding from his mom. But why does he even need to get up so early? 7am? That's just crazy; he didn't even get up that early for classes in college, always making sure his schedule started well after ten in the morning. Because god knows he never fully functioned before that. But leave it to his mom to instill a ridiculously strict new schedule now that he was a "full-fledged "college graduated adult. Which feels pretty damn good actually, but he was hoping to enjoy a few months of blissful relaxation after graduation before he started this new chapter in his life. And so far, it had been great. He went to nearly every party that occurred Thursday-Sunday nights and used the remaining three days to recuperate his energy just to start up again. And in New York City there was never a shortage of parties, and last night's bash was especially good. Especially since it was on _his _rooftop and it was full of friends and ridiculously hot girls and one of his favorite bands played right on said roof top, when usually they refused to play private party performances. Sometimes it sure doesn't hurt to be the heir of a publishing company. Well, more like publishing powerhouse. His family owned Hudson Publishing, a company that owned all of the major magazines in the country and was worth millions of dollars. And growing up in this family was a privilege in itself. Finn had gone to the best private schools as a child and attended the best prep school in the city as a teenager. He was well known around Manhattan and had enough money to pretty much get whatever he wanted. His college education was also influenced by his father's legacy, one look at his name and he was accepted to Columbia University, it probably also helped that his father had donated a pretty hefty amount of money to the school and the Columbia Student Library was now the "Christopher W. Hudson Student Library". His family also lived in a grand penthouse apartment right across the street from Central Park and all of them had a town car at their beck in call, which so happened to be one of his step brother Kurt's favorite things after him and his dad moved in, who had the energy to walk back to the apartment two blocks carrying shopping bags? Not Kurt. Finn's friends also reaped the benefits of his glamorous life, always having the best parties and access to the best events of the year around the city. So, to say that Finn led a privileged life was putting it lightly. Being New York City's unofficial golden boy was pretty fucking awesome.

"Finn! Your alarm went off twenty minutes ago; you have to get ready and eat breakfast and be at the meeting in an hour." Carole shuffled through the room and ripped off the sheets that covered her giant son.

"Moooom, it's fuckin' freezing!" he groaned.

"LANGUAGE, Finn. Serves you right anyway, who throws a party the day before his first day of work? Now go to the kitchen and pour yourself a nice cup of coffee and get something in that stomach of yours, Burt is making omelets and bacon. The last thing you need is to go into the conference room looking like you have the world biggest hangover. That's not gonna win any of them over." She scurried over to his walk in closet and picked out a suit and a tie. "I'll set your clothes on the bed for after you're done eating, ok?"

Finn walked over to his mom and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks mom. Seriously." Call him a momma's boy but he admits it. That's exactly what he is, him and his mom were super close and he has no idea what he would do without her. His father died in a tragic car accident twelve years ago and it had nearly ruined Carole Hudson. For quite a while it was just the two of them trying to move on and her trying to keep control of this giant company, the company that has kept them afloat and at the top of New York society ever since Finn can remember and they were very appreciative of it. The only negative thing he has ever confronted about being behind Hudson Publishing was all the media attention. When his dad died all he remembers was a slew of flashing cameras in his face, a bunch of interviews and seeing pictures of his family in countless amounts of newspapers and magazines. It was really weird seeing tons of people he'd never met before offer their condolences for a man they'd never met. All just because of who his dad was and the company he owned. For years after that it was just him and his mom, the board kept control of HP until Finn graduated college, and then he would inherit everything. His father specifically wrote in his will that he had to graduate from college; he didn't want an irresponsible eighteen year old to take control fresh out of high school. And that's where he was now, 22 years old and about to take over his father's company worth millions of dollars…in approximately an hour and a half. No pressure.

Finn exited his bedroom and took the stairs down to the kitchen and found Burt finishing a couple of omelets with extra cheese, just the way he liked it.

"Mornin' Burt. How's it goin'?" He poured himself a mug of coffee and leaned against the counter drinking in the bitter liquid.

"Mornin' party boy. I'm doing well, how are you? Hangover kicking your ass?" He laughed.

"Eh, kind of. Not as bad as I thought it was gonna be, thank god. Mom would have had my head on a platter." Finn dug into the breakfast Burt had placed for him on the counter.

"Finish that up and you'll be good as new. How was…For the People? Or whatever they're called. They sure sounded pretty lively from down here."

Finn chuckled at the mistake. "Foster, Burt. They're called Foster the People. And yeah they kicked ass. I'm hoping they'll play here again for my New Year's Eve party. Sorry about the noise though, I hope it didn't keep you guys up too late."

"Nah, I was beat after the long day of work. I passed out pretty quickly. Speaking of work, I gotta get going I'm meeting with all the managers of my shops in a bit. You should hurry up too, you got 45 minutes. Good luck with your meeting Finn, I'm proud of you son." He reached over and ruffled his hair as if he was a child and walked out of the kitchen, Finn grinned at the affection.

"Thanks Burt! And thanks for the breakfast!" Burt was a godsend for Finn and his mom. When Finn was sixteen his mom met Burt Hummel, an extremely kindhearted man. He owned a small chain of auto shops around the city and loved his mother to death. Burt caught Carole's eye at a charity auction event that she helps put together every year, he was there to auction off a year's worth of car services which Carole managed to outbid everyone despite the fact that she didn't own a car interestingly enough. After the event he began to pass by the apartment time and time again and managed to sweep her off her feet after she had thought she'd never find love again. What made it a little easier was the fact that Burt was also a widow and had a son of his own about the same age as Finn and slowly but surely both little families started to merge and a year after their meeting Carole and Burt became Mr. and Mrs. Hummel. Finn had a bit of a tough time accepting him at first but hating Burt was about as hard as hating a puppy, he became the father figure Finn needed at his age always making it clear he wasn't trying to replace his dad. They quickly bonded over sports and cars, often going to Rangers, Yankees, and Jets games. Burt's son Kurt on the other hand was a whole other animal. It took Finn about a year to get used to him, not because he was gay, he wasn't a homophobe or anything, but Kurt was needless to say…a little intense. The first time Kurt went to their penthouse apartment for one of their first "family" dinners he instantly started brainstorming interior decorating ideas for when they moved in (Kurt knew early on that both of their parents would get married) and almost threw a fit that Finn didn't have a color scheme in his bedroom stating that "having an incredible view of Central Park in front of your bed is a privilege that deserves a damn color scheme." But despite their very different personalities he was proud to call him his brother and have become close since then. Of course the media went a bit crazy the day of his moms wedding seeing as she was quite high up in the New York social circles, having pictures of the ceremony and reception on Page Six wasn't exactly weird since it wasn't the first time whatsoever, it was the pictures in People magazine and countless other tabloid magazines that weirded Finn out a little bit. Kurt was on cloud nine at first with all the media attention, getting a brief taste at what being part of the Hudson family was like but when he saw that the paparazzi took pictures of him wearing a two year old Marc Jacob sweater while grocery shopping he almost had a heart attack and grew to despise the photographers and threw out half of his wardrobe to make sure that never happened again.

Finn's thoughts were interrupted when suddenly the elevator that led to the apartment opened and said step brother stepped through the threshold.

"Kurt! 'Sup man. What are you doing here? It's like 8 in the morning?"

Kurt walked around Finn and reached up into a cabinet and grabbed a mug to pour himself a cup of much needed coffee.

"I'm now officially on vacation for three weeks so I wanted to drop by and say hi to my dad and take Carole out for brunch later before I leave to stay at the house in the Hamptons on Friday. But most importantly why are YOU here? Shouldn't you be in a conference room right now meeting with the HP board members? I mean, you do remember that you're taking over right? It's _kind_ of a big deal, Finn."

Finn put his dishes in the sink and ran his hand through his disheveled hair. "I _know_, Kurt. Meeting's not until 9 though, I got time. "

"Ok, whatever you say. Just take it seriously Finn. This isn't something that can be done for you, you're the head of the company now and everyone in that big, tall building with YOUR last name on it is going to expect you to make decisions and to take charge. I'm not trying to stress you out or anything, you know I love you, I just want you to be the man that you're expected to be right now."

Finn chuckled a bit. "Wow, no pressure. I just have a giant company on my shoulders and my father's legacy to honor, no big deal. But don't worry man, I got this. I'm not 18 or anything, I can handle this."

Kurt raised an eyebrow and threw that mornings issue of The New York Post on the counter, already flipped to a page. "Care to explain that then?"

Finn picked it up and started reading the headline of the article out loud, "_Hudson Heir Throws Big Bash Before Taking the Throne_. Shit, how'd they find out about it? I didn't even invite that many people this time."

"Really? Finn, there were a hundred people on your roof last night plus a fairly famous band. One person was bound to blab to the paper, wasn't there some actors or actresses here too?"

"Oh, yeah. Jessica Szohr and her friends were here, what are their names? Blake and Leighton? And Emma. Oh and Miley, I don't know who the hell invited her but she was here for a bit but at least she left as soon as the band ended their set."

Kurt's mouth hung open.

"What are their names? Are you kidding me Finn? Blake is one of the best dressed women in the country right now and Leighton is gorgeous. Their faces are plastered over magazines all over America. Learn their names! And you mean Emma ROBERTS? You still hang out with her? I thought you guys were done with that thing you had going on?"

Finn leaned against the counter flipping through the rest of the newspaper.

"We _are _done. It was just a short 'no strings' thing while she filmed a movie here. She wasn't my girlfriend or anything. Plus we have some mutual friends so we see each other every once in a while. No big deal."

"Ugh, your penchant for 'no strings' flings disgust me. There are such things called RELATIONSHIPS, dear brother of mine. It's a wonderful thing. You should try it sometime."

Finn laughed and threw the paper at his brother. "Now why would I want to do that when I can have any girl in New York City, bro? That's an opportunity I just can't pass up. Besides, relationships are a drag. They're just another opportunity for someone to screw you over."

And Finn Hudson was certainly screwed over by the one and only serious girlfriend he'd ever had in High School. Getting cheated on by someone that claimed to love you had emotionally scarred him, especially since his girlfriend cheated on him with none other than his very own best friend, Noah Puckerman. He actually managed to forgive Puck after some time and to this day their friendship was still solid despite that dark incident. However, since then he bid relationships goodbye and was more than happy to just have fun hooking up with the most beautiful girls in the city and even some hot actresses that he met at parties.

Kurt washed up his mug and gave Finn a serious look.

"You do know not all girls are like Quinn, right? They're not all cheaters and some even are interested in staying more than one night with you. I'm sure there is some beautiful girl out there right now walking around Fifth Avenue who is completely meant for you that will love you and cherish you forever."

Immediately after finished speaking Finn began to gag and playfully pretend to throw up then proceeded to start laughing once a look of annoyance took over Kurt's face.

"I'm sorry man, but that has got to be one of the cheesiest things you've ever said to me and we've had a lot of cheesy heart to hearts before." He clapped a hand on his brother's thin shoulder. "But I do appreciate the "open your heart to love" speech. Buuuut, I'll pass for now. The girl can keep window shopping on Fifth Avenue, meanwhile I gotta go throw on my suit before mom comes and finds me still in my sweats, she might kill me." He runs upstairs leaving Kurt drinking his coffee and munching on a croissant.

Finn runs back in ten minutes later looking sharp in a tailored navy blue suit and matching skinny tie with his hair well styled, almost like he actually spent time getting ready.

"Wow, you clean up _quickly_. And in the Tom Ford suit I got you for your birthday. Bravo." Kurt applauded lightly, feeling proud that his brother was wearing one of his gifts on such a monumental day.

"Yeah, well, gotta pull out all the stops right? Oh, and my mom may have set it out for me." Finn grinned.

"Of course she did. Well, you gotta get going, Bill already buzzed in while you were getting ready saying the town car is waiting for you downstairs."

"Ok, cool. Oh, can you do me a favor, if you see Rosa later when she comes in can you ask if she can make some of those really good muffins? The poppy seed ones? She knows they're my favorite."

Kurt quirks his eyebrow. "Rosa's still the housekeeper? I thought she was going to move back to Mexico?"

Finn gathered his things and started walking out of the kitchen. "Nah, you know Mom, she loves her too much so she offered her a huge ass raise and convinced her to stay. Oh! One more thing!" He presses the button for the elevator. "Can you tell Rosa that she doesn't have to wash and fold the bras and panties she finds under my bed? She can just throw them out." The elevator door opens and Finn grins as he steps in.

"You disgust me!"

"Love you too bro! See you later!" He yells as the door shut.

Finn Hudson loves his life.

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><p><strong>Next chapter will be from Rachel's POV.<strong>

**Reviews are really, really appreciated. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, so, so sorry for taking such a long time to update. Things got a little bit hectic and I didn't have time to write at all, but everything has calmed down now and hopefully there won't be that much of a wait between updates anymore. **

**Hope you guys like the new chapter! Enjoy. :)**

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><p><strong>New York City – West Village <strong>

Rachel trudged up the three flights of stairs and fumbled with the keys trying to enter her apartment, completely drained. As she walked into the living room she flung her purse on the couch and threw herself face first onto the sofa and let out an aggravated sigh.

"I. HATE. MY. LIFE." She yelled into the couch cushion.

Out of the kitchen her roommate and best friend walked out and chuckled at the sight of the petite young woman sprawled out on the piece of furniture, looking incredibly defeated.

"I'm guessing the interview didn't go well?"

Rachel sat up and blew her hair out of her face.

"No! It went great! That's what makes me so angry! I blew it out of the freaking water! We went over my impressive resume and I wowed them with my professionalism and everything. But then I walked out of the conference room and there they were, all these _adults_ with their suits and ties and fancy briefcases waiting to be interviewed. It doesn't matter how well I did, I'm never going to compete with them, Blaine! I just graduated college; I'm a kid in their eyes. Any person with actual job experience would get picked over me."

Blaine walked over to the couch and pulled up her feet and placed them on his lap as he sat down.

"Come on Rachel, you're gonna get hired really soon. I can feel it. Patience is a virtue darling."

Rachel let out a scoff.

"I graduated in May! It's been four months and I'm still unemployed. Am I really that terrible of a person that no one wants to hire me? I interned at a really great place in college and I was so involved in school activities and programs and it's gotten me nothing." She tossed a couch pillow across the room in frustration.

"Hun, it's gonna be fine. I'm sure you're not the only college graduate having trouble right now. There are tons of people having the same problem, it's tough out there."

Playfully kicking his side she said "Yeah, easy for you to say. You got a job offer before you even graduated; you've been set for months already Mr. Fancy Lawyer. Not everyone has your same luck; my internships didn't turn into a career like yours did."

Blaine laughed as he got up and grabbed her hands to pull her off the couch.

"I know, I know. I was lucky, but don't give up, I'll keep an eye out for any job opportunities for you and I'll spread the word. By the way, I don't mean to push any sensitive buttons, but why not give the audition front a try? You could send out your resumes and go on job interviews and try out for some shows at the same time."

Rachel went to the kitchen and reached into the cupboard to grab a couple tea bags, letting out a long breath.

"I don't know Blaine. I don't know if I'm ready for that yet. Or if I'll ever be."

Auditions and pretty much anything to do with singing was a sore spot for Rachel. Her first three years at NYU she had busied herself with so many plays and musicals and vocal lessons, pretty much anything that would help her perfect her craft. She had been the lead in almost every single production and had served as the understudy for the ones she wasn't. Rachel was convinced that this was just the beginning of a bright and blossoming Broadway career, destined to be the next Patti Lupone.

Singing had been her passion and her talent was out of this world. Growing up in small town Lima, Ohio Rachel was determined to get out of there and make it to the Big Apple to be a star. Her two dads nurtured her in a way to take advantage of the arts, signing her up for dance classes, singing classes, and acting classes as well. By the time she was in high school Rachel was actively involved in community theatre, had starred in all the school musicals, and had helped lead the glee club to multiple first place wins at their competitions. Everyone knew that Rachel was meant for so much more than Lima, stardom was simply an inevitability for her. Once she arrived in New York and started college she saw that she wasn't the only one who was immensely talented, she was rejected from her top choice, NYADA, after all. But she didn't let it deter her; she took it as a challenge and worked her butt off to prove she deserved to be there. And that's exactly what she did. Despite the fact that she didn't attend a prestigious performing arts school like she wished she had, Rachel loved NYU and was proud to have gone there.

College was some of the best years of her life, she had met Blaine her freshman year during a student production of West Side Story. He was her Tony and she was his Maria, despite him being a couple years older they had become instant friends along with everyone else in the theatre department. Rachel still kept close with several people from school including her good friends Tina, Santana, and Mercedes. Blaine was accepted into Columbia Law at the end of her freshman year but they still managed to see each other despite their busy schedules. She loved her life and the people surrounding her, she really thought it was all uphill from there. That is until the last semester of her junior year when her dreams of performing on Broadway were dashed. After a major blow to her future plans she decided to focus her entire senior on her education and on what she thought were more realistic goals. Rachel even managed to snag a great internship at The New Yorker. She considered changing her major but settled to stick with it, and then on May 14, 2012 she graduated with a major in music theatre and a minor in media, culture, and communication. Almost immediately after graduation she went to work sending out resumes to any and every company she could. That included magazines, newspapers, advertising agencies, any sort of multi-media company. Blaine had tried to get her to audition for some roles but she refused every time, claiming that she "wasn't ready yet".

"Rachel," Blaine walked over to her and put a warm hand on her shoulder, "you _are_ ready. You always have been. Don't let one bad experience ruin your lifelong dreams, hell, your lifelong work. It's been more than a year since all that happened and the diva inside you should be able to put it behind her and trudge along despite that setback." He gave her a knowing look. "In fact, I don't think Barbra Streisand would have let that stop her."

Rachel's breath hitched at her best friend using her idol against her.

"Bringing out the big guns there huh Blaine?" She stirred her hot mug of tea and took a sip. "I know that you're right, but it's so hard. It hurt so much and my self-esteem was completely shot to hell. It made me question everything, whether if all those years were for nothing, you know? A part of me still wants to pursue those dreams but I'm so scared. Getting a stable job at an established company or something is just a more solid future. I already know that I thrive in that environment and I have the references from my internship at The New Yorker to prove it. So that's what I want to focus on for now. Maybe next year I'll audition for some shows again, but right now my priority is to get a job _somewhere_."

Blaine took a deep breath.

"Ok, if that's what you really want. I won't push Broadway on you anymore. Let's change the mood here, wanna go out to dinner tonight? I know we've hardly been able to eat together for a while because I've been so busy at the firm. We could go down to the Village and eat at that vegan place you really liked in college."

"Sure, I'm starved. But Iet's go somewhere else, someplace we haven't been to in a while. Your pick."

Blaine walked over to the coat closet and grabbed his jacket and slipped on his shoes.

"Alright, how about that Italian restaurant in midtown that we went to with your dads last year? You loved it."

Rachel's face brightened immediately, that day had been nearly perfect and the restaurant was bound to bring back good memories; she desperately needed to go somewhere that would help brighten her mood and dinner there seemed like the perfect solution.

"Oooh! Sounds great! But let me pay my share this time, I hate it when you pay for dinner. I feel like such a moocher."

Blaine chuckled and held the door open for her leading out of the apartment.

"Stop, I like paying for friends. Especially my _best_ friend _and_ roommate. But just to make you happy how about I pay for dinner and you pay for cab fare, deal?"

She smiled and walked out, satisfied with the arrangement.

"Deal."  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

Dinner had gone wonderfully for the two of them, so much that Rachel had completely forgotten about all the job hunt stress and was enjoying a nice night out with her best friend. She and Blaine had laughed for a couple hours about old college memories while sipping on wine and eating amazing pasta, they hadn't realized how long it had been since they had some time for just the two of them, despite the fact that they lived together.

After nearly choking on her drink when Blaine re-enacted his embarrassing meeting with a client from a previous day a neatly dressed man about their age approached the table politely and cleared his throat before speaking, directing himself to Blaine.

"Hi, sorry to interrupt but I saw you as I was about to leave and I can't help but think that you look awfully familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?"

Blaine squinted his eyes a bit in thought rifling through his brain trying to place his face with a name until he finally matched it, stretching out his hand at the dapper young man.

"Yes! Mr. Hudson! We met at a meeting with the HP board members not too long ago; you were there along with your mother. I guess you can say I'm one of your company's lawyers now. "He smiled widely blushing a little, "sorry, that's the first time I've ever said that I was a lawyer out loud. It's still strange to say."

"Oh yes, I remember now! Blaine, right? I remember your name seeing as you and I were the only ones in the room at least twenty years younger than everyone else. And by the way it's Hummel, Kurt Hummel, not Hudson unfortunately. Mrs. Hudson is my step mother, every once in a while I fill in for a family member at important meetings just to be up to date with everything. And by family member I mean my lazy step brother who is always too hung over or too busy sleeping with all the women in Manhattan. The things we do for family, right?" Kurt laughed.

Blaine chuckled as he took a drink of his water. "So you work for Hudson Publishing then? Helping your step mother?"

"Oh no. I do that on the side, whenever I can or if they really need me. I'm actually a costume designer for a Broadway show, well technically I'm an apprentice of sorts but I've pretty much been taking charge of it all since the actual designer is a raging alcoholic that hardly ever goes to work. Works out for me though. " He grinned.

"Wow, that's incredible. I never would have thought that's what you did just by looking at you. I figured you were also a corporate figure or something, you sure dress like it. You look so sophisticated, so sharp, so Upper East Side." Rachel, who was apparently left completely forgotten, had her mouth hanging open at the obvious sparks going on in front of her. Frankly she wasn't even offended that Blaine hadn't introduced her much less acknowledged her in the past couple minutes. She'd never seen him like this before, so captivated by someone. Sure he'd dated guys in college but he always liked to keep his love life under wraps. He never flaunted it or talked about it. Rachel had never seen him come anything close to flirting and now that she was witnessing it with her own eyes, well. It. Was. Awesome.

Kurt fixed his tie and blushed a bit. "Why thank you. Though I hate to state the obvious, I am very Upper East Side. I mean, if your father marries into one of the city's most affluent and wealthy families in the city, well you got to look the part. Although it's nothing I had to work at, I've always had a sophisticated taste in clothing and pretty much just a love of everything that has to do with fashion. And you look like you have that in common, I love the bow tie. It's very 1960's chic, I like it." Blaine's face turned red and looked almost flustered.

"Thanks. I like to have a unique style. I've always had a weird fixation with the 1950's and 60's and I like to show it sometimes." By now Rachel was a little tired of being ignored and cleared her throat, smiling at Blaine, trying to get him to introduce her.

Blaine shot up in his seat immediately. "Oh my god! Rachel, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. Kurt, this is my roommate and best friend, Rachel Berry. I can't believe I didn't introduce you two, that's incredibly rude of me."

Kurt took my hand and smiled, "Hi Rachel, pleasure meeting you. Sorry about completely ignoring you, we were so caught up in the conversation."

Rachel showed her thousand watt smile and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Oh it's no problem, really. I love seeing Blaine make new _friends_."

Both young men blushed and looked down at their hands, like two kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

Kurt attempted to change the subject.

"You know, I feel like I've seen you before. Have we met in the past or crossed paths?"

Rachel thinks for a second and shakes her head.

"No, I don't think so."

He shrugs and continues.

"So what do you do for a living Rachel? Do you work with Blaine?"

Her smile faltered a bit and she took a long drink from her wine glass.

"Actually I'm unemployed at the moment. I haven't been able to get hired anywhere since I graduated from college this spring. It's been a little difficult but I'm still working hard getting my resume out there."

Blaine placed his hand over hers and gave her a warm smile. "Yeah, it's been a tough few months for Rachie but I keep telling her to keep her chin up. Someone is bound to see how great she is and will hire her in a second."

Rachel squeezes his hand and smiles back.

"Blaine has been quite the supportive friend, listening to all my griping. Although at this point I think I'm going to have to sell a kidney or something in order to make some money. I can't keep having him pay my share of the rent and the bills. My savings are quickly depleting."

Kurt frowns and feels badly for her and the situation she is in.

"You know if you want I could see if I could pull a few strings and get you a job at HP. I'm sure we have someplace we could squeeze you in."

Rachel nearly dropped her wine and gasped loudly while Blaine's mouth gaped open and his eyes were wide as saucers.

"Kurt, no! No! That's- that's, oh my goodness! That's impossible! You barely even know me and it's just too much to ask for. Besides, I sent my resume to their HR department months ago and I never got called back."

Kurt put his hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

"Rachel, it's ok. You're a friend now. Yes, a _VERY, VERY_ new friend whom I just met, "he laughed, "But a friend none the less and this is what friends do. What's the point of being at the top of the heap if you don't use your privileges to help others? I remember going through times exactly like these when I was a kid. I haven't always been an Upper East sider you know, before my dad started his business we went through some tough times financially and if i can help someone get out of a situation like that, well, i'd be an idiot if I didn't."

She can feel the tears welling up in her eyes but refuses to let them fall in order to not make a scene.

"Now I can't positively guarantee anything immediately but I'll go have a chat with the newly appointed CEO, work my charm, and I'll see what I can do. Give me your number and I'll give you a call when I know of anything." He handed her his phone so she could program it in.

Rachel bit her lip and typed in her number and breathed out deeply as she handed it back.

"Thank you so much Kurt, you have no idea how much this means to me. I won't get my hopes up but just knowing that you'll try is enough." She got up from her seat and gave him a hug.

"By the way, what show are you a costume designer for?" She asked.

"Wicked." Blaine looked at Rachel whose eyebrows had shot up and had gasped quietly. "Why? Are you a Broadway fan?"

"Fan?" Blaine said with laughter in his voice. "Rachel is a Broadway baby, it was her first love. She's incredibly passionate about it to say the least. And Wicked is one of her favorites."

Kurt raised an eyebrow and grinned at the tiny brunette.

"Well, Ms. Berry, I think we're going to get along famously."

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><p><strong>The story will pick up after this, just had to set a little bit of background for Finn and Rachel. They'll meet<strong> **in the next chapter. **

**Tell me what you think! Reviews are love. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**I know it's taking me a little longer than anticipated to churn out this story but school is kind of kicking my ass and showing no mercy right now, it's causing a bit of a writer's block and i hate it. So this turned out to be more of a light hearted Finn/Kurt** **filler chapter, it was the only thing i could come up with.**** Luckily i really like their sibling relationship, so it's fun to write. But anyways, i hope you guys like it** **and i'd also like to thank everyone that has reviewed and added this story to their Favorites and Story Alerts. This being my first attempt at fan fiction, it means so much and really encourages me to keep writing. Thank you so much! :)**

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><p>"Mr. Hudson!"<p>

Finn's head shot up from his desk and looked towards the doorway where his new blonde secretary, Tessa, stood. He had spent all day in and out of meetings listening to all these old guys talk about things he barely understood or even cared about, which made him pretty sleepy. This has been a daily occurrence ever since he took over nearly two weeks ago. His company published magazines; it's not exactly rocket science, right? He didn't see the point to so many meetings, especially being the head of the company, that's why he had hundreds of employees roaming around the building, taking care of everything _for_ him. But unfortunately that was not the case, apparently his dad had done a lot more than just sit in this pretty awesome gigantic corner office and play on the computer. There was so much Finn had to keep track of that it was quickly becoming overwhelming, he was definitely going to have to get a helpful assistant pretty soon if he wanted to get everything done.

He had completely forgotten that someone was at his door, quickly shaking his head from his mid-afternoon nap.

"Uhhh, yeah? Sorry, can I help you with something?"

Tessa giggled a little and batted her eyelashes, doing what she'd spent most of the day on instead of filing the papers on her desk, flirting shamelessly with her boss.

"I was just going to ask if you wanted a cup of coffee."

He raised an eyebrow and gave her one of his trademark side grins.

"Is that an offer or an invitation?"

Tessa teasingly plays with the hem of her inappropriately short skirt and leaned against the doorframe.

"Depends. What do you want it to be?" She winks at him and bites her lip.

Five minutes later Finn is showing her a whole new use for the supply room.

* * *

><p>After his afternoon tryst Finn had received a text message from Kurt asking if he wanted to have lunch together in his office, offering to bring him a burger and fries from Shake Shack. He quickly accepted and picked up the mess on his desk and rearranged the chairs so his brother wouldn't scold him on having a messy workplace. Fifteen minutes later Tessa buzzed in and let him know Kurt was on his way in and Finn got up to welcome him with a hug; he hadn't had a meal with his brother in what seemed like forever.<p>

Kurt waltzed in, in all his Alexander McQueen glory carrying brown paper bags of food and he placed them on Finn's desk and quickly turned around and smiled as he was enveloped in a brotherly hug.

"Hey man, how are you doin'? How was your vacation?"

"I'm doing well and the vacation was fantastic, just what I needed. I'm one hundred percent relaxed and replenished, all my batteries have been recharged." He said with a laugh. Kurt quickly looked at his brothers' appearance and let out a scoff.

"And looks like your "battery" was recharged as well." He shook his head and opened a box that held his salad and sat down as he started eating.

Finn scrunched his eyebrows in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

Kurt flung a piece of lettuce at Finn.

"Next time you have sex in the middle of the afternoon in your office remember to tuck in your shirt and fix your hair, you're so gross."

Finn's ears burned in embarrassment and turned around to fix his appearance.

"Ummm, sorry." He sat at his desk and started eating the food that was brought for him, though he knew Kurt would not change the subject.

"So who was it this time? The girl in accounting? The girl in HR? The receptionist? All of the above?" Kurt asked.

Finn smirked, "None of the above actually, it was the secretary, Tessa."

Kurt's nose wrinkled in distaste.

"Tessa? You could have at least gone for someone with a bit more class, and perhaps someone who's hair color doesn't come from a bottle. And I would advise to just not sleep with any employees at all, Finn. You're their boss now, any hook ups could easily turn into a sexual harassment claim and that would be terrible for you. You _have_ to be professional here and having sex with a skanky secretary in your office is the opposite of that. That being said, I think you should fire her and get an assistant that will actually help you get your job done and get your life in order. You should not hire any people based on how hot they are because you will sleep with them and ruin any chances of professionalism in this company that your father worked very hard to build. I love you, even though we don't share the same blood or last name I think of you as a real brother and as your brother I can't let you sabotage your career due to your juvenile tendencies. "

Finn stared at Kurt wide eyed, not really expecting a rant like that.

"Whoa…that was…very direct. And kind of intense. I thought we were just going to have a nice meal and instead you came to yell at me at how terrible I am at my job." Finn laughed trying to inject a bit of humor to the tension that was filling the room.

Kurt sighed and looked at Finn.

"I'm sorry. I just want to help, really. Sometimes it can come out in an aggressive way, you know me. Though I'm serious about firing that Tessa girl, she's of no help. Do you know what she was doing when I walked in from the elevator? Watering the little tree by the window. The _PLASTIC_ tree by the window! Like I said before you need an assistant that will do just that, _assist _with your job. Not flirt with you or fornicate in your office or water things that aren't even alive."

Finn blew out a big breath and tossed his trash in the nearby garbage can. He leaned back in his chair and ran his fingers through his hair in thought.

"Yeah, I know. You're right about everything. I gotta get my shit in gear around here; it's a lot more overwhelming than I thought. I guess I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was. And I agree about the assistant thing, I was actually thinking about that earlier. I need someone around that'll help and keep me in check and kind of pick up the slack. But I might have a little trouble finding someone to do that." His eyes brightened and threw a paper clip at Kurt's forehead.

"Ow! What the hell? What?"

"Can you help me with that, man? You're good at judging people and seeing if they're good workers, can you help me hire an assistant? I'll owe you big time, I swear. Please? Please, please, please?"

Kurt gave him an annoyed look.

"Finn, though I'm flattered that you think I'm a good judge of character, you know how busy I am with my own job. Interviewing and choosing a proper assistant can take weeks, I don't have that kind of time."

Finn knew it would be tough to get Kurt to help him so he brought out the big guns. He shot his brother the best puppy eyes he could muster and pouted his lips a bit.

"Please, Kurt. I'll give you anything you want. You name it. I'll let you have complete control over who to hire too. Come on man, be a good bro."

Kurt let out a groan and stood up to throw away the remnants of his lunch and took out a bottle of water out of Finn's mini fridge.

"Fine. I'll do it on two conditions, you owe me an all-inclusive weekend at that spa that I love and I get to hire _whoever _I want. Even if it's some ugly, eighty year old lady that smells like mothballs, you got it?"

Finn got up and gave Kurt a big hug.

"Deal. Thanks man. It means a lot. So how about I send out an email to HR and have them start pulling resumes for whoever qualifies and tell them to send them to you. That way you can start interviewing as soon as you can. Oh! Before you leave I gotta give you a message, one of the lawyers called a few days ago asking for you saying something about not getting your number when you guys talked a few weeks ago. I think his name was Blaine, you know him?"

Kurt blushed a deep red and faltered a moment.

"Oh yeah, Blaine, he uh, we- uh, we met at the board meeting last month, when I went with Carole. I saw him at a restaurant having dinner with a friend a few weeks ago and we happened to chat for a bit. I guess we forgot to exchange numbers. It's whatever."

Finn noticed the change in his brother's demeanor, usually all put together and now with the mention of Blaine he turned into a blushing, stuttering, weirdo. He instantly knew what was going on so he grinned like mad and poked Kurt on the shoulder.

"Holy shit, you like this guy! Oh my god, this is awesome. Are you guys like gonna go on a date or something? Is that why he called you? I gotta meet this guy, size him up, and see if he's a good fit for you. What does he look like? Is he big like me? Is he high maintenance like you? Is he like able to defend himself, you know, in case he gets mugged or something? Does he li-"

He gets cut off by Kurt slapping his arm, whose face is even redder than before.

"Shut up! It's not like that! I barely know him, ok? I might like him as a _person _but don't get ahead of yourself. And if this potential friendshipever turns into something else I can assure you that you'll be the last person to meet him. You're so embarrassing whenever you meet a guy I date."

Finn feigns a wounded look, pretending that he's been insulted.

"I'm not embarrassing! I just like getting to know the dude my brother goes out with, is that a crime? So what if I also try to see if they're thick skinned or not? You gotta find out one way or another and I like to joke around. Not my fault one of them takes it personally."

Kurt lets out a scoff.

"You asked my ex-boyfriend if anyone had ever told him he had a meerkat face!"

Finn shrugged. "Look at pictures of him. All I can see is meerkat."

"You also asked him if he knew the words to "Under the Sea" and if he had any hot red head friends named Ariel." Kurt said dryly.

"His name was Sebastian! I couldn't resist. Who would be able to? And if I was the first person to make Little Mermaid references because of his name, well, he's clearly been hanging out with the wrong people." Finn took out a bottle of beer from the fridge, uncapped it and took a swig. "Just give the dude a call back, set up a date, have him pick you up at the apartment and it'll be fine. I won't even drag it out like I did with the meerkat douchebag. I mean you guys practically already had the first date from what I hear so the second one should be smooth sailing."

Kurt groaned and rubbed his temples in irritation.

"We did _not _have dinner together; we talked for a very short time. We weren't even alone! His roommate Rachel was there, so it was a conversation between the _three _of us. And as you already know we didn't even exchange numbers, it was the other way around now that I think about it. I didn't get _his_ number, instead I got Rachel's number." His eyes suddenly widened and he jumped up from his seat. "Rachel! Oh my god I totally forgot about Rachel! It'll be Rachel!" He quickly ran over to Finn's desk and sat down at the computer, furiously typing away.

"Whoa, what the hell dude? Sure, go ahead, take over my desk and feel free to use my computer. No need to ask." Finn said sarcastically. "And who the hell is Rachel? Why did you just freak out and yell out her name like three times?"

Kurt ignored him for a couple more minutes as he finished typing. When he finished he got up and took a big swig from his bottle of water, a smile plastered on his face.

"Sorry, I just had to email the HR department asking them to pull out a specific resume, because I, dear brother of mine, already found you an assistant."

Finn's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

"What? How? You did that in less than five minutes? Shit, are you a wizard or something?"

He watched as his dapper young brother crossed his arms smugly and sat on the arm of a chair.

"Rachel Berry, the girl I mentioned, is Blaine's best friend and roommate. She was there at the restaurant with him and she mentioned that she's been unemployed since she graduated from college in the spring. She's been having a lot of trouble competing with the hundreds of people out there in the job hunt so I told her that if I saw an opening here that I'd do my best to get her in. She already sent a resume a few months ago to the HR department but never got an interview. So now, I'm going to be a life saver and call her for an interview. Although the interview is just a formality, she's getting the job for sure. I'm positive her resume will prove that she'd be a great employee and worthy of the job."

Finn grinned and gave his brother a sly look.

"Yeah, that and you'll be scoring major points with Blaine, right? I like your style, Bro. Hire his best friend, make him see that you're a good dude, and BAM! He's got hearts in his eyes and you've got yourself a new boyfriend." He laughs as Kurt slaps him on the arm.

"Knock it off, I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart. I don't have an ulterior motive. She seems like a sweet girl _and_ we have some things in common, I think we'll be good friends. I'm not doing this to win over Blaine."

The older sibling raises his eyebrows disbelievingly as if saying "_yeah right_".

Kurt blushes slightly.

"Ok, so I have a TINY glimmer of hope that this will land me a first date. But seriously, I am doing it because I want to help her out. A date with Blaine will simply be the icing on the cake, that's all."

Finn chuckles at his brother's ever present romanticism and walks over to him and pats him on the back.

"Sounds good, bud. Well I gotta go take a piss, are you staying a little while longer or are you taking off?"

Kurt looks at his watch and starts collecting his things.

"I think I'll get going, I gotta pick up some garment bags at the theatre and then I gotta call Rachel to set up the interview. If Patty calls or replies about the resume just tell her to email it to me, ok?"

Finn scratches his head and ponders for a moment.

"Uhh, who's Patty?"

Kurt stops in the doorway and sighs deeply.

"Oh dear god, I'm going to hit you. Patty is the HR girl! Finn! You gotta learn the names of your employees! Not their boobs or ass. Geez. Well, I'm leaving; I'll see you at the family dinner on Friday. I'll let you know then when the interview with Rachel will be scheduled so that you can sit in while it takes place, ok?"

"Yeah, yeah. You know I'm no good with names. I'll try harder though. And sounds good, see you later." He says as he waves at his brother.

Before he leaves the office Kurt pops his head back in quickly.

"Oh and in the email I sent to Patty I told her to send Tessa a notice of termination. Sooo, good luck with that." Knowing full well the girl will freak out, and then he makes a speedy exit.

Finn lets out a loud groan.

"Damnit Kurt!"

* * *

><p>Kurt giddily leaves the office building and starts heading towards the nearby dry cleaners. He fishes through his things until he finds his phone so that he can make the very important call. He dials the number as he crosses the street and listens to the countless rings waiting for her to pick up. Sighing when he only gets her voicemail he waits until he hears the tone and leaves a message.<p>

"Hi Rachel! It's Kurt Hummel, we met at a restaurant a couple weeks ago when you were having dinner with Blain and I hope you don't think I had forgotten about our little deal regarding any available job openings over at HP. I was away on vacation for a little bit which is why it took so long to get back to you so I apologize. That's why I'm calling, because I, Miss Berry have snagged you a position here at the company as an assistant. Now we just need to schedule an interview so call me back and let me know when you're available, but the job is pretty much yours. That is if you want it. So just call me back as soon as you can, ok? I'll talk to you soon. Bye!"

He has a good feeling about this girl.

* * *

><p><strong>I know i said Finn and Rachel would meet in this chapter but sometimes my fingers have a mind of its own and don't follow what i had in mind. haha. But it will happen in the next chapter, i swear, which i hope will be up soon.<br>**

**Also, Reviews are LOVE. :)  
><strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**No, this is not a dream, I'm actually updating this story. I swear that the two month wait was unintentional, writer's block was terrible and school had me super busy this whole quarter. Good thing is that I've been on spring break this week so I was able to churn out this chapter, it's not the best and i'm not completely happy with it but I think it'll do. Thank you to everyone that keeps on reviewing this story and adding it to their Favorites and Story Alerts, it really means a lot and keeps me motivated to continue writing. **

**Enjoy. :)**

* * *

><p>"Oh my god!" Rachel said as soon as she stepped foot in to the apartment. Blaine sat in a chair eating a bowl of soup at the kitchen table, startled at her upbeat entrance. Rachel put her keys in the bowl next to the door, hung her jacket up on to the coat hanger and quickly walked over to him while still saying "Oh my god" over and over until she sat right on his lap and grabbed his shirt collar in excitement.<p>

"Guess who has an interview at a major publishing company? And when I say interview I don't mean another to add to the list, I mean a simple formality because I, Rachel Barbra Berry, finally have a job!" She squeals.

"Oh my god, Rachel! Congratulations!" Blaine wraps his arms around his best friend and squeezes her tightly, so happy that she's finally been given a chance. "I'm so freaking happy for you! What company hired you? When do you start? What's the job? Oh! We should celebrate! Let's go out for a fancy dinner, my treat! Anywhere you want in the city, ANYWHERE! We'll invite Tina and Santana and Mercedes too!"

Rachel giggles and places her hands on both sides of his face.

"Breathe, Blaine, breathe. One question at a time and we can save the celebrating for the weekend, it's only Tuesday." She pinches his cheeks slightly as he finally releases her from his hug.

"Sorry, I got a little carried away. This is just so exciting! It's been nearly six months of you struggling and being sad, I can't help but freak out for my best friend."

Her eyes begin to fill with tears and she leans over and kisses him on the cheek, so thankful that she has people like him in her life.

"Well I do owe it all to you. Seriously, not just because you've been helping me out financially for the past few months but literally, I got this job because of you and your connections." She grinned and played with his loosened tie.

He tilts his head a bit and looks at her questioningly.

"What do you mean me and my 'connections'?"

She flashes her thousand watt smile and pokes his nose.

"Remember the lovely, dapper young man from the restaurant last month that you flirted endlessly with? The one whose step-family owns the great Hudson Publishing company?"

Blaine nods and his eyes widened.

"Wait, Kurt? He really got you a job there? I thought he was just being nice and said that to make you feel better. I never really thought he meant it."

"I know! That's what I thought too! After three weeks passed and I hadn't heard anything back I thought he had forgotten or something but no! He called me this afternoon but since I was in my yoga session I wasn't able to answer. He left a voicemail though and I called him back as soon as I could." Rachel hopped off Blaine's lap and stood proudly with her hands on her hips.

"Hold on to your hat because you are now looking at the new assistant of the one and only C.E.O. of Hudson Publishing!" She beamed from head to toe with a smile that spanned from cheek to cheek.

Blaine leaped up from his chair, eyes wide as saucers.

"Assistant to the C.E.O.? Are you serious? That's incredible, Rachie! Wow, Kurt really did you a solid!" He wraps her up in another quick hug then goes over to his phone and instantly starts to send out texts and emails to their friends to let them know of the great news. Rachel bursts into laughter at his actions.

"Can you really not wait more than five minutes after I tell you my big news before you have to text half of New York City about my little accomplishment?"

"Little accomplishment? Sweetie, this is huge. I mean HP is one of the biggest, most successful publishing companies in the country and you're not only going to be working there, you will be assisting the person who is essentially the head of it. I haven't even met the guy and I'm one of their lawyers."

Her eyebrows rise slightly.

"Really? You haven't met him? But I thought you went to board meetings there and stuff, doesn't the C.E.O. have to go to those?"

Blaine finishes typing out another text message and sits back down in his seat.

"Yeah, but they had a change up in positions a month or two ago so I haven't met the new one. That's how I met Kurt actually. He was kind of filling in for him at the meeting just to take some notes. No idea who the new guy is though. Did Kurt tell you his name?"

Rachel shakes her head.

"No. He just told me I'd be the assistant to this apparent mystery man. Oh well, I'll find out soon enough!" She jumps a little on her feet, cheeks flushed with excitement. "I'm going in for the interview on Monday morning. So you know what that means!"

Blaine throws his head back and groans. "Not another shopping trip."

"YESSS!" She yells out. "But don't worry, I won't put you through that torture. I'm gonna go call up the girls and schedule something for this weekend. I. Am. So. Excited!"

She runs down the hallway while dialing Santana's number and shuts the door as soon as she enters her bedroom. Blaine chuckles to himself as he hears the muffled laughter and bursts of joy coming from the very lively phone call. Hopefully this is only the first of many good things to come.

* * *

><p>Before she knows it, it's already Monday morning and Rachel finds herself sitting in a leather chair playing with the buttons on her jacket, waiting to be called into the conference room. The receptionist glances up at her every few minutes and gives her a soft smile.<p>

"You nervous?"

Rachel smiles back and wrings her hands together.

"Yeah, a little bit. Not too much though, just nervous about meeting my boss, being that I'm going to be his assistant and all."

The other young woman jumps up a little from behind her enormous desk.

"Oh! You're Mr. Hudson's new assistant?" She walks on over to Rachel and holds out her hand. "I'm Sugar Motta, the receptionist, obviously." She giggles.

Rachel smiles at the bubbly young woman and shakes her hand.

"I'm Rachel. Rachel Berry. Nice to meet you." She freezes suddenly when a realization hits her. "Wait, did you say Mr. Hudson? But I thought he died a long time ago? Is it his brother or something?"

Sugar shakes her head and replies, "No, not his brother, his _son_. He's the new C.E.O. now."

Rachel's eyes widen and slowly sits back down in her seat.

"Oh. His son. Mr. Hudson. The one's whose last name is engraved at the front of the building. I'm going to be his assistant." She lets out a shaky breath. "Okay, I'm really nervous now."

Sugar laughs and walks back to her desk and sits down in front of her computer, picking up a file and starts shaping her delicate finger nails.

"No need to be nervous. Mr. Hudson is real nice, plus a total fox if I do say so myself. You're so lucky; all the girls around here would _kill_ to have your job. Being in the same space as him, talking to him and have him order you around for eight hours a day? mm-mm-mm", she hums, "I'm jealous."

Rachel chuckles quietly.

"What, is he like New York's George Clooney or something? The handsome, charming, older man that has all the girls swooning?"

Sugar grins at her and leans back a bit in her chair.

"Oh, he's not –"She is quickly interrupted when Kurt strides into the room and waves at Rachel, walking up to her and greeting her with a friendly kiss on the cheek.

"Hi! Glad you could make it! Come on, follow me."

Rachel gathers her things and waves goodbye to Sugar, who gives her a wink.

They make their way down a long hallway, passing offices full of bustling people, ringing phones, clacking keyboards, and lively chatter. Kurt opens a door leading into a small conference room and she sets her stuff down as he pours them a couple glasses of water.

"Now we just have to wait for my step-brother to get here, he's always running late, _and_ he's supposed to be bringing me my coffee which I really need right now. He can be really irritating sometimes but I'm I think you two will get along fine, just ignore whatever idiotic things come out of his mouth every so often."

She giggles at the sibling rivalry they must share.

"Sounds like such a catch that brother of yours. Does he work here too?"

Kurt throws his head back and laughs, "Oh Rachel, I forgot to tell you, my brother is-"

Before he can finish his sentence a man comes bursting into the room, one hand holding a tray of coffees and a paper bag of pastries, the other clutching a cellphone and a messenger bag. Rachel was nearly mesmerized by him, maybe because she hadn't been in a relationship or had any kind of romantic altercation with a man in what seemed like forever, but this guy was just drop dead gorgeous. And that wasn't even a term she used often, at all.

"Sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry. I know I'm late but traffic was a bitch and the coffee shop took _forever_, I don't know why you insist on getting your coffee from there when there's a perfectly good Starbucks right down the block." He suddenly seemed to notice that Rachel is in the room and froze for a moment. "Oh, ummm, sorry, I didn't realize you guys had started already. Hi, I'm Finn." He reaches across the table and shakes her hand, a charming grin splayed across his face.

"Hello, I'm Rachel." Her cheeks reddened a bit, for some reason she felt like a teenage girl all of a sudden. This has never happened to her before. But now she was shy and nervous in the presence of an attractive man, a very attractive man in a fitted suit who had thick, dark disheveled hair that she inexplicably wanted to run her fingers through, and indented in both cheeks were the cutest dimples she'd ever seen. Rachel quickly took a mental note to ask Kurt about Finn later, in a subtle way of course, she hoped maybe they'd run into each other often around the building because she definitely wouldn't mind seeing _that_ face around. She really doubted that Mr. Hudson, the one, who according to Sugar, all the girls are drooling over, can even hold a candle to Kurt's brother.

"Sorry, Rachel, I didn't get to properly introduce you two. This is my brother, Finn Hudson. Finn, this is your new assistant, Rachel Berry."

Her mouth hung open, eyebrows raised in shock. "Wait, _you_ are Mr. Hudson?"

He chuckles a bit and sits down across from her, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "Umm, yeah, were you expecting someone else?"

She blushes in embarrassment and shakes her head. "No, well, it's just, I thought you would be older. A lot older in fact. And you're…not. At all. You look so young. Not TOO young though! No offense, I was just surprised. I'm really sorry; I didn't mean any disrespect Mr. Hudson. I probably have given the worst first impression, which is just terrible because first impressions are really important and I just ruined it after spending hours last night practicing my etiquette and conversation skills. I mean, you're my boss, my first real employer and you probably think I'm a terrible assistant already and I've made such a fool of myself now and I haven't even been able to show you my impressive secretarial skills and-"

"RACHEL!" Kurt yells. She jumps in her chair, startled by the interruption.

"Oh my god," She hides her face with her hands and sinks a bit in her seat, "I'm sorry. I ramble when I get nervous."

She receives a smile from both young men and decides to just shut up and sit there while biting her lip to keep from talking. She hears Kurt begin to talk but she can't seem to pay attention to anything he says because her eyes seem to gravitate towards Finn, who seems to be looking in her direction as well. Rachel averts her eyes as much as she can but something about this man seemed to make her heart beat a little faster and to make her brain turn into mush.

Kurt clears his throat, meaning to grab her attention.

"Like I was _saying_ this interview is pretty much just a meeting to welcome you here to our company and to introduce you to Finn. As I told you before, I don't actually work here so I won't be around except for the occasional lunches. But related to the job, there's not much to it really. You'll be keeping track of Finn's meetings and sitting in on them and taking notes, answering phones, and filing paperwork. If for some reason Finn gets backed up and has to stay late you'd stay and help, you'll also do any other generic assistant duties that he asks you to do like coffee runs, lunch runs, dry cleaning pickups, things like that. What do you think?"

Rachel sits up straight and tries to act like she hasn't reverted to a sixteen year old girl who has never seen a cute boy before.

"Y-Yes. I mean, I think it sounds great. I think I can handle all that. I'll do anything Mr. Hudson wants me to do." Her face turns a deep crimson as she realizes what she said unintentionally sounds inappropriate. "I-I mean, I follow directions really well and I'm not a complainer. I am an extremely hard worker and very organized, I won't disappoint, I swear." She takes a sip of water hoping that will calm her nerves and the butterflies that seem to have taken up shop in her stomach.

Kurt grins knowingly at Rachel.

"Ok, perfect then. You'll start Wednesday at 9 AM; feel free to bring any plants or knickknacks to decorate your desk area with. Also, we have a strict business dress code which I'm sure you'll have no problem following. You also get an hour long lunch break during the day and a ten minute break every two hours. Oh and one last thing, your starting pay will be thirteen dollars an hour, after two months you'll be up for a raise." He hands her a folder full of papers and a booklet. "All the information concerning your benefits like health insurance and vacation time will be in that booklet, the papers are to be filled out and given to Patty, our head of HR, by Friday. That sound good?"

Rachel skims through the booklet and nearly bursts with excitement. She never expected this job to pay so well and to have such generous perks judging from what she's read from leafing through the pages.

"Oh my goodness, I get a company credit card? And discount dry cleaning? AND a discount at Barney's? Oh wow, this is beyond what I expected."

"Yeah, anyone who works on this floor gets a company card; you get a discount at our dry cleaning place since you'll be making several trips there every month, might as well make it worthwhile and use it for your benefit. Also, the Barney's discount, that's partly my doing. I worked there for three years during college so I have a long standing relationship with a lot of people there; also Finn's mom has a personal shopper at the store who she uses ALL the time so they give all HP employees a discount." He glances down, taking in the outfit she is wearing at the moment. A burgundy cardigan with buttons in the shapes of bows and a gray hounds-tooth skirt that hits a few inches above the knee, paired with black patent leather pumps that look like they were bought from a Forever 21. He squints his eyes almost as is if he's looked directly at the sun and adds, "Which I insist you take full advantage of. No offense."

Rachel's face reddens a bit but nods her head in agreement.

"Absolutely! Thank you so much Kurt, I owe you so much for this opportunity, I'll never forget this. If you ever need anything from me feel free to ask, I'll do anything to repay you. Anything!" She grasps the folder and booklet in her hands tightly out of eagerness.

Kurt takes a drink from his coffee and gets up from his chair, eyebrows furrowing as he notices that this whole time Finn has been completely engrossed in some kind of game on his phone.

"Finn! Come on! This meeting has barely even taken ten minutes and you can't even bother to pay attention!"

Rachel giggles when Finn is frightened by Kurt's yelling, and nearly drops his phone.

"Sorry dude, Puck and I are on our _eighty EIGHTH_ turn in Draw Something and I'm trying to figure out what the fuck he drew. I don't know if it's an alien, a robot, or some kind of mutant zombie. To make things worse, I ran out of bombs and I don't have enough coins! I won't pass though, we're at a record high turn and I won't fuck this up just because Puck can't draw for shit." He runs his fingers through his unruly hair, deep in thought, trying to figure out the word. Rachel couldn't help but think that he was the most adorable thing to exist. She's never seen anyone so determined and invested in a silly drawing game. But apparently she was the only one who thought his actions were adorable because Kurt let out a frustrated breath and began to collect his things.

"You and your Neanderthal best friend are the bane of my existence. Well, this meeting is done and I need to head to the theater early today since Elphaba's costume was torn in some freakish way thanks to an idiotic intern and no one else is capable of fixing it. I swear to God, if it was torn because that intern tried it on and was playing around in it, pretending to re-enact some scene, blood will be shed. Mark my words."

He walks around the table to where Rachel is sitting and reaches out for a hug and kisses her on the cheek.

"Sorry about my little rage outburst but I really am glad you made it and I'm happy you're going to be working here. I just know you'll be doing wonders around here and will be keeping Bozo over there in check."

"Hey! I heard that! I'm not deaf!"

They both laugh and Rachel gives Kurt one more hug.

"Once again, I know you're probably tired of hearing this, but thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me. I'll do everything in my power to not disappoint and be the most professional, driven assistant you've ever seen."

"You're welcome and I know you will be. Well, I really got to go. You're free to leave too, it wasn't meant to be a long meeting." He starts walking towards the door and turns around once more before leaving. "Oh and we should get together sometime soon for drinks or something! It's time we get to know each other more and hang out. I'll text you later this week!"

"Ok! Bye!"

After Kurt left Rachel felt a bit awkward still standing in the middle of the conference room with Finn Hudson, her new boss, no, her new _drop dead gorgeous _boss, sitting in one of the leather chairs, still fiddling with his phone. She tried thinking of what to say to break the silence, maybe asking what his morning routines were or maybe if he preferred email alerts opposed to post-it notes (her personal favorite). She was about to open her mouth when suddenly the tall man jumped out of his seat, hollering in celebration, his fist pumping in the air.

"YEEEAAAAAHHHHH! Woooooohhh! Turn EIGHTY NINE! Damn, took me forever to guess Lady Gaga." He must have forgotten where he was for a moment because when he looked up and saw Rachel his eyes widened and looked around.

"Oh shit, is the meeting over? Did Kurt leave?"

Rachel giggles.

"Yeah, it's over. And Kurt left a couple minutes ago, saying something about you being the bane of his existence and needing to be at the theatre."

He visibly flinches a little and checks his watch.

"Damnit. He's gonna kill me. Thank God we don't live in the same apartment anymore or else I'd be afraid to go home. Anyways, I know we didn't really get to properly talk and stuff given that you are going to be_ my_ assistant but um, thanks for coming in and taking the job. I'm kind of in over my head here and if someone doesn't help me I might get fired from my own company. Then my dad would roll over in his grave." He laughs.

"That's what I'm here for." She says cheerily. "I've been known to be very organized and focused and over achieving which will be very beneficial to you and your work. I'm ready to dive in to this head first and will do anything that is asked of me, anything in the professional realm that is. I am also open to learning new things, I don't know much about some computer programs and technologically advanced machines but I am a quick learner. I hardly ever get sick due to my highly efficient vitamin regimen so I'll never miss work and I don't live too far away so I'll probably never be late. I'm good under pressure and determined to be the best in almost everything, and like I told your brother, I will do everything I can to live up to your expectations and not disappoint you guys."

She breathed hard, not realizing she had been speaking so quickly.

Finn stood in front of her stunned.

"Whoa. You said a lot…and very fast."

Rachel blushes once again for what seemed to be like the millionth time that day.

"Sorry, like I said before, I ramble when I'm nervous. And in this case I nearly recited my whole resume."

She tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear and looks up at the whiskey colored eyes she had taken almost instantly to.

"Hey, you don't gotta be nervous. Especially around me. As you can tell, I'm pretty easy going and I'm not going to be a hard ass about pretty much anything as long as whatever needs to get done gets done. From your little ramble speech there it seems like you're gonna kick ass at this and probably even freak me out every once in a while cause you seem to be the type to have color coded binders and post its and lists for every imaginable occasion." She looks down at her shoes because he is almost dead on. Except about the binders, she had color coded_ folders_. "But that's what I need here and I'm glad Kurt called you in. Also, the way I see it, if we're going to be around each other for at least forty hours a week, we ought to comfortable around each other, right?

Rachel smiles up at him and gives him a little nod in agreement.

"You're right, Mr. Hudson."

He chuckles and puts his hand up.

"No. First rule of being my assistant, call me Finn. Everyone else here calls me 'Mr. Hudson' and it's weird but I go with it. But _you_ will not. Ok?"

She playfully salutes him with two fingers.

"Yes, sir."

"Ok, cool. I gotta go now and head to a shop where I can buy an apology gift for Kurt for being completely distracted during the meeting. Sorry, for that by the way, now that I think about it that was totally rude. Oh! And before I forget, I am going to be one of those bosses and ask that you get me a coffee in the morning, I take it with some cream and three sugars. It'll be the only demanding thing I ask for, I swear. I don't care where you get it, any coffee shop is good."

Rachel grabs her bag and jacket and starts walking out of the room.

"Ok, no problem! Cream and three sugars, got it."

"Awesome. I'll see you Wednesday morning then. You ready to help me take this company by storm, Rachel?" He says with a grin.

She doesn't even bother hiding her excitement.

"I can't wait."

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><p><strong>Happy about how they met? Yes? No? You'll see how it goes during their first day of working together and what Finn thinks of Rachel in the next chapter and see if the attraction is mutual. <strong>

**Remember, reviews are love! :)**

**Also, on a slightly different note, i've been working on a different finchel fic that is also A/U but it's very different and a bit darker. I've got a lot written for it already and I might post some sort of sneak peek to see if anyone likes it. So let me know if you're interested. **


	5. Chapter 5

**No, this is not a dream. I'm actually updating. **

**I'm so, so, so incredibly sorry for the delay. :( Feel free to throw things and yell at me. **

**Don't think i've forgotten about this story though. I just have had so many things that have been going on. I was busy with finals, then I went on vacation for a couple weeks, then my laptop broke for a while, then my internet wasn't working for a few weeks. It was one thing after another. But now i'm back to business and have been working on this story and my new one that i had talked about before. Thank you to all the readers that have been writing reviews and adding this story to their favorites and Story Alerts, it means so much and really helps keep me motivated. Also, a special thank you to all of you that have sent me PM's asking about updates and saying how much you love the story. It means a lot. :) **

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><p>Finn walks into the bustling building, rubbing his face as he walks through the reception area. Sugar looks up from her computer and shoots him a wink and a smile.<p>

"Morning Mr. Hudson. Someone's looking sleepy. Gotta admit, it's _super _adorable."

More than used to her harmless, flirty ways Finn chuckles and stops at her desk to grab some jellybeans that she keeps in a candy dish for everyone to enjoy. She claims that spreading a little "sugar" will keep the place sweet, just like her.

"Thanks. Ever have one of those days when you wake up so early your face hurts? That's me right now." He says, chewing on the candy. "I'm so fucking tired I don't even know what day it is. I haven't even had breakfast or a coffee."

Sugar laughs and flings a little Ziploc baggie at Finn. "Here, catch. Those jellybeans are left out for _everyone_, Huddy, but you can have these. Also, Rachel has your coffee in your office; she's been here for like two hours already."

Finn freezes for a moment.

"Oh shit! I forgot today is her first day! Damn, I'm seriously not thinking straight. Thanks for the reminder. Oh and for the candy too!"

He shuffles quickly through the lobby and down the hall towards his office, pausing right before opening his door. He takes a deep breath and turns the doorknob.

"Hello?"

He hears rustling in the back, when suddenly a head pops out from behind the couch.

"Finn! You're here!" Rachel steps around the furniture, straightening out her skirt. "Is it already nine? Oh wow, time flew so fast! I brought you a coffee and bagel, they're on your desk and I got your lunch covered. I put it in the refrigerator down in the staff dining room so that it remains fresh."

She stands in the middle of the room with her hands on her hips and a huge smile planted on her face. Finn has never witnessed so much enthusiasm in the morning. Ever. It was weird.

"Ummm, thanks Rachel. But umm, you didn't have to come in so early. You could've slept in some more and- what the hell happened to my office?" He hadn't noticed the complete change the room had made, so distracted by the five foot two bundle of energy standing in front of him. His office is now nearly unrecognizable and so…organized.

Rachel beams even more when he comments on the changes, not really offended by his tone of slight outrage.

"Kurt said I could move things around or even take some stuff out in order to make everything more efficient and professional. Do you like it?" She asks, waving her hand out around the room like she's presenting a grand prize on a game show. "I know I should've waited and asked for your input but I know you'll be thanking me. Doesn't it feel more open and like you can think better? I have my own version of Feng Shui that I have come up with throughout the years that has been very effective when moving into a new place. It has definitely helped my creative thinking and peace of mind."

Finn is still somewhat frozen in place until he notices his most valued appliance missing from the office.

"Where's my mini fridge? And mini bar?"

"Oh, Finn. The office is no place for a mini bar. Either way, I donated it to the Goodwill down the street already. And your TV too…and your dartboard…and the folded up ping pong table you kept behind the bookshelf."

"WHAT?" he yells out, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head. "You sold them? Are you serious, Rachel?"

She scoffs and folds her arms across her chest. If he weren't completely pissed right now, Finn would be totally turned on by her standing there looking irritated in that little red skirt that she's wearing. Also, that navy blue polka dotted shirt she has on makes her boobs look awesome. They're small, but awesome none the less.

"I didn't _sell_ them, Finn. I _donated_ them, that way people in greater need can enjoy them. I strongly believe in good deeds. And please, those were all entertainment appliances. You hired me so I can help you get stuff done, right?"

Finn just nods, still a bit angered.

"My measures may be a bit extreme, but trust me, I _will_ help make you be more efficient and successful. There's no way I graduated at the top of my class in high school, was president of at least five different after school clubs, lead my glee club to two national titles, was accepted to the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, was the first freshman to be the lead in all the student productions of the year, and graduated from said university with a solid 3.86 GPA without having incredible drive and great organizational and prioritizing skills."

His eyebrows raised at her accomplishments, thoroughly impressed. He's hardly ever had to work so hard and balance so many things. Maybe she's got a point.

He sighs and runs his fingers through his hair, not noticing the way Rachel bites her lip as he does so.

"Fine. I guess what's done is done. It's not like I'm gonna make you go bring everything back."

She beams at his words and starts to jump up and down, he thinks she sort of looks like a little bunny doing that.

"But next time give me some type of warning, will ya? This is a bit much for it only being" He looks at his watch, "9:45 in the morning."

Rachel immediately stills and her mouth opens to a shocked little "O", freaking him out for a second.

"9:45? Oh, Finn! You have a meeting at 10:00 with the marketing department and you need to go over all the notes for it!" She races over to his desk and grabs a folder full of papers and starts rifling through them.

Seeing how panicked she is getting he can't help but laugh a little bit.

"Rach, calm down. I hardly ever prep for meetings. I don't think I ever have actually, now that I think about it."

Rachel shakes her head profusely, grabs the folder of sheets and an iPad.

"Not on my watch. Grab your coffee and bagel and walk with me to the conference room. I'll read off the notes to you as we go."

Finn threw his head back and let out a loud groan. This was going to be a long day.

"Come on!"

"I'm coming! Damn."

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><p>When the elevator opens to the penthouse apartment floor Finn can hear loud laughter and the clinking of forks against plates. The aroma of food fills his nostrils and his mouth immediately starts watering. He feels like he hasn't eaten in days is so exhausted from his day at work that it takes nearly all his energy to drag his feet to the dining room.<p>

After Rachel dragged him to the meeting with the marketing department it had been non-stop from there. One meeting here, another there, then she fed him some disgusting hippie food, then another meeting after that, then they did a lot of looking at charts and Excel spreadsheets and budgets, then Rachel freaked out about a pair of panties that she found in a desk drawer, _that_ was hilarious and most definitely the highlight of his day. He kind of wishes he had a camera just to capture the look on her face, it was also the first time since he's met her that she had no words coming out of her mouth for a full five seconds. He laughs to himself as he remembers the moment.

"_Let me just grab a calculator to add up these expenses. Do you have one around here?"_

"_Yeah, bottom left drawer, I think."_

_She reaches down and opens up the drawer, feeling around for the calculator._

"_Got it! Wait, what's thi-OH MY GOD!"_

_She flings a lacy, red thong on to the desk, as if it had burned her, and she jumps out of the chair backing as far away from it as she can. _

"_OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD, FINN!"_

_Finn sits in his chair, his head in his hands, shaking from laughter._

"_Why are you laughing? Finn! THIS IS DISGUSTING! OH MY GOD! I can't believe I touched that!"_

_He tries to speak between breaths._

"_You should…see your…face right…now."_

"_Stop laughing! UGH! I feel like I have to take a shower now. You're deplorable Finn Hudson!"_

_He's now having trouble breathing and has tears streaming down his face._

"_I don't…even know…what that…means"_

_Rachel then freezes and her eyes widen._

"_Wait. Does that mean you did it here? On that desk? Where we've been working for the past four hours?"_

_Finn just looks at her with a shit eating grin on his face._

"_OH MY GOD!"_

Yeah, his first day with Rachel as his assistant was definitely eventful. Although he was pretty sure she was now going to carry a bottle of Purell with her whenever she was in the building from now on. At least that's what she told him. He's just glad the day is over. All he wants to do now is eat and watch TV until he passes out because he doesn't have energy to do anything else or even deal with anyone else.

As he walks through the apartment he sees his parents and brother sitting at the table eating whatever incredibly delicious dinner Rosa made for them and he plops himself down on a chair next to his mom, loosening his tie and letting out a long breath.

"How was your day sweetie? You look spent." She lovingly runs her fingers through his hair like she used to do when he was young. It always made him feel better for some reason.

"I think today is the first time I actually felt like a C.E.O. I'm fucking exhausted."

His step father and brother burst into laughter and his mom immediately scolds him.

"Finn, language. Not at the dinner table, please."

"Sorry. But seriously, I don't think I've ever worked this much in one day. I feel like my head's about to explode."

He notices Kurt smirking behind the glass he's drinking.

"What?"

Kurt shakes his head.

"Oh how Finn Hudson suffers. God forbid the golden boy actually does the job he's being paid thousands of dollars to do."

Finn balls up a napkin and throws it at Kurt's face.

"Hey! Watch the hair, I'm going out later. And what is it with you with throwing stuff at me? Geez."

Rosa walks into the room to collect empty dinner plates and stops to pat Finn's cheek.

"Meester Finn want dinner? I made lasagna. Lots of meat and cheese. The way you like."

He brightens at her kind gesture and squeezes her hand.

"Oh my god, yes please. I'm starving. Thank you."

When she comes back moments later with his plate, the minute she sets it down he digs in like a starving mad man.

"Slow down, honey. You're supposed to chew and swallow, you know."

"Sorry, I-sohoefldkokfy. Rach-eorhdokl crap-fodolkdol. Starving."

Everyone at the table stares at him, trying to decipher what he had just said.

"Can you say that in English please now that you ate that entire thing in 60 seconds flat?" Kurt asks.

Finn finishes chewing his final bite of food and takes a drink of water.

"I said sorry, I'm so hungry. Rachel gave me crap food."

Burt raises an eyebrow, now curious.

"Who's Rachel?"

At his father's question, Kurt sits up straight with a huge smile on his face, clearly proud of himself.

"Rachel is Finn's new assistant, who I hired for him. She is an extremely driven girl I met a while ago that has been looking for a job for a long time. When Finn told me he was looking for an assistant I knew she'd be perfect for the job, and from the looks of it she is. You're welcome by the way."

Finn glares at his brother.

"Yeah, thanks to you I ate a shitty vegan wrap and some disgusting green drink that tastes like ass and definitely did not boost my energy levels like she claimed it would. Oh and she GAVE AWAY HALF THE SHIT THAT WAS IN MY OFFICE!"

His mom slaps his shoulder.

"Language! Don't make me tell you again."

Kurt covers his mouth with his hand as he bursts into giggles.

"Oh my god, she's even better than I expected."

Finn just sits in his seat glaring at his brother, trying to cause Kurt to spontaneously combust into flames with his mind. His mom does little to sympathize with his situation though.

"Oh yeah? Hey, Burt and Mom, Kurt hired Rachel because he's trying to hook up with her friend Blaine. That's probably who he's going out with tonight."

Kurt glares at him, mouth wide open, absolutely fuming, looking as if he's about to jump across the table and stab him with his butter knife.

"Carole, you know the Monet painting that you LOVED so much but was ruined? It was Finn! He did it! He was playing darts with his idiot friends and threw one while blindfolded and it tore right through it!"

"HEY! That was like back in high school! Not cool, dude!"

Carole's eyebrows shoot up and turns to look at him.

"Finn! You said it was one of the window cleaner guys! I had him fired!"

"I'm sorry! I freaked out!" He gives his brother a dirty look. "Thanks a lot you narc."

Kurt sticks his tongue out at him.

His step-father raises his hands and speaks up.

"Hey, hey, hey! Calm down everybody. Finn, you're getting your mother a new painting. Carole, just forget about it. It was years ago, Finn was an idiot. And Kurt, don't hire people so that you can date their friends. I'll let this one slide though cause you did good this time it seems."

Carole nods her head.

"I'll thank you on Finn's behalf, Kurt. Rachel's first day on the job and he is about to collapse from exhaustion, I like her already."

Burt laughs along with her and raises his glass of iced tea.

"To Rachel the assistant, may she keep making Finn's life a living hell and supply us with endless dinner table entertainment."

At that Carole and Kurt clink their glasses together and yell out, "Cheers!"

Finn crosses his arms and slumps further into his chair.

"You guys suck."

Rosa comes back to pick up his plate and pats his cheek once again.

"Meester Finn, I bring you dessert. I make my special empanadas just for you."

He slings an arm around her and squeezes her, burying his face into her shoulder.

"Rosa, you're my favorite person ever. Everyone here has betrayed me. You're all I have now."

Laughter fills the room, the small family fully enjoying each other's company in their own way.

"Drama queen." Kurt mutters under his breath.

Finn stuffs an empanada in his mouth and flips him off.

"Finn, not at the dinner table!"

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><p><strong>Hope you liked the new chapter! Sometimes I get carried away when writing FinnKurt scenes. They're just so fun to write!**

**The next one is going to have a lot more Finchel interaction and sexual tension will begin to fill the office. ;)**

**Also, the first chapter for my new fic should be up by tomorrow or Monday at the latest. So keep an eye out for that. **

**Remember, reviews are love! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**No, you're not dreaming. I am indeed updating this story! I had to take a bit of a hiatus from writing but I didn't intend for it to be a year long one. I'm so, so sorry. I read every review and noticed every Story Alert and felt guilty for not taking the time to work on this story but life got in the way. When Cory died it completely broke my heart and shifted everything around for me. He meant so much to me as he did to many of you and I felt like by continuing to write I can honor him and Finn and keep both of their memories alive. It's an incredibly difficult situation to not only lose such an incredible human being but to also lose this character that he brought to life and that we have loved so dearly for four years. That's why I wanted to get back to writing. Finn and Rachel may not get their happy ending on the show but through our stories they can live on in our alternate universes in different walks of life as doctors, teachers, actors, music recording artists, post apocalyptic survivors, a broadway star and a fireman, or in this case, a C.E.O. and an assistant. I hope you continue to enjoy my version of Finn and Rachel and the little world I created for them. I'd like to dedicate everything I write from here on out to Cory who will remain in my heart forever. 3**

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><p>"No, Finn! That's where I'm drawing the line. I'm <em>NOT<em> going to go buy you condoms! That was definitely not in the job description. Now excuse me, I'm going to go pick up your suit from the cleaners and drop off the rest of your clothes, like a _normal_ assistant."

She then storms out of the room in true Rachel Berry fashion, leaving behind a laughing Finn as she makes her way through the building and in to the lobby.

"The _nerve_ of that man. He is so infuriating sometimes."

Sugar giggles and offers her a candy from the bowl sitting on her desk.

"Huddy driving you crazy again, Rach?"

She takes a couple jelly beans and throws them in her mouth.

"You have no idea. It's like he comes in every day and asks himself: 'How can I annoy Rachel and make her day impossible?' And here I was thinking I was going to be working for the prestigious Mr. Hudson everyone had spoken so highly of, but turns out the apple fell far away from that tree. Miles and miles away."

She chews angrily and sits on a chair next to Sugar, fiddling with the leaves of a potted plant placed beside it.

"He just asked me to go buy him condoms _knowing_ that I have a 'no sexual duties' rule. It's bad enough that I have had to send flowers to his one night stands for him last month. Did you know he once tried to get me to track down his favorite Rolex by calling a list of girls he had slept with that week? It was so degrading."

The bubbly receptionist laughs loudly and puts a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound.

Rachel glares at her.

"Sorry Rachel, but it's too funny to not laugh at. Hey, at least you weren't one of the girls on that list. You're probably the only girl in this building who hasn't been inside Hudson's pants. Well, out of all the hot girls. I doubt he'd be desperate enough to get with Patty from HR. Ugh."

"Sugar! That's incredibly rude. Patty's a very nice girl."

Sugar just rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, a nice girl with one too many cats."

"I love cats!"

"Yeah, but you're a hot girl who likes cats. You may wear weird clothes with reindeers and owls on them but you're hot. I would know. I'm hot too."

Rachel can't decide whether or not to be mad at the fact that her clothes were called weird or flattered that she was considered hot.

"Wait a minute. Since you said you're hot does that mean you've slept with Finn too?"

Sugar smiles at her and begins to file her nails.

"Oh, there wasn't any sleep involved." She says with a wink.

"Oh my God! Are you serious? Why?! And when? You two act like nothing's ever happened."

"Calm down, Rachel. It was when I first started. Actually it was the day after I started, come to think of it. He came to sit in on some board meeting and I was in the copier room trying to reach some printer paper on a high shelf and he… let's just say he 'helped' me out if you know what I mean."

Rachel grimaces.

"Ew."

"Don't be a prude. It was nothing. I mean, it was so hot and he's super sexy but it didn't mean anything. And _don't_ say 'Ew' and act like you don't think he's sex on legs. I've seen the way you stare at him sometimes."

She can feel her skin burning and her face flushes.

"I- I- I don't know what you're talking about. I don't stare!"

Sugar laughs out loud.

"Yeah right. He may annoy you sometimes but I know you've imagined his head between your legs once or twice."

"SUGAR!"

Rachel looks around making sure no one was within ear shot and whispers harshly to her obnoxious co-worker.

"There are people around! And I've never done such a thing! He is my boss and I'm a professional. Yes, I may think of him as an attractive male but that is simply because I'm a woman with functioning eyes. But I will _NEVER_ act on it. I'm better than that."

Sugar raises an eyebrow.

"We'll see about that. By the way, your phone's been vibrating for the past couple minutes."

"Shoot! I have to go pick up Finn's dry cleaning. See you later, Sugar!"

Rachel gets up and quickly walks out of the building waving goodbye behind her, making her way to the cleaners down the street when her phone rings for the second time.

"Hello?"

"Rachel! Hey!"

"Blaine! Oh my god, I feel like I haven't heard your voice in forever!"

"Well if someone wasn't so busy with their glamorous assistant job I'd be able to see and speak to my roommate now and then. Feels like I live with a ghost sometimes." Blaine says teasingly.

"I'm so sorry, Blaine. I didn't expect to be working such long hours, sometimes I feel like I live at the HP tower. How are yo- Excuse me! Either walk or get off the sidewalk!" She yells at a group of high schoolers standing in her way.

"Umm…Rachel?"

"Sorry! I'm just on my way to the dry cleaners and some kids decided to stop and pretend to be statues holding cups of Starbucks."

"And there is a perfect example of what happens to someone after living in Manhattan for five years." He laughs.

"Got to have something to show for it, right? Anyways, I'm glad you called. I really do miss you despite the fact that I haven't been around."

"I know. I miss you too. Why don't we go grab dinner tonight? What time do you think you'll be getting off work?"

Rachel looks through her checklist on her phone really quick to see how many things she has left to do.

"Hmmmm. Oh! Looks like I don't have much today! I should be getting off at about six o'clock at the latest. Does that sound good?"

"Sounds perfect. I'll stop by the building and wait for you in the lobby and we can just grab a cab from there."

"Yay! I'll see you in a bit then."

She hangs up just as she walks into the dry cleaners and quickly picks up Finn's clothes from the clerk and heads back to the office building before he calls asking what's taking her so long. God forbid he actually spends a full hour without her during the work day. Not to toot her own horn, but sometimes she doesn't even know how he got any work done before she started there. She reminds him to eat on time, walks him to all his meetings, keeps track of his work schedule (and personal schedule), and even tells him to switch his tie when it doesn't match his suit properly. All while he groans, complaining that she treats him like a child sometimes. Which, yes she does, but only because he chooses to act like one.

Her phone buzzes, signaling a new text message.

"Speak of the devil." She says to herself.

**Rach, I'm starving to death. Can you get me a burger and fries? Please?**

God, this man was like a human food disposal. How was he not 500 pounds yet? She quickly typed out a response as she waited to cross the street.

_No. There's a turkey club wrap in the fridge with your name on it. Literally._

**Come on! I'll buy you anything you want from any store on Fifth Avenue. ANYTHING.**

_No._

There was no immediate reply so she smiled to herself, happy that she won this battle.

Until her phone vibrated again.

**The tortilla is GREEN. Fuck no.**

_It's made out of spinach. It's good for you and you won't even taste the difference._

**Bacon cheeseburger and fries from Shake Shack. That's all I ask. I'll let you color code my entire office** **like you wanted.**

_No. The last thing you need to eat is bacon. It's the wrap or nothing at all. Unless you want some of my_ _tofu stir fry._

**This tastes like shit. I'm a full grown man. I need food that fills me up.**

She decides to ignore his texts and instead pops in her headphones, making her way through the city.

As she enters the lobby to the building she pulls out her phone again and scrolls through the ongoing, one sided conversation.

**Rach…**

**Come on.**

**I know you're reading all these texts. You always have your phone with you.**

**Please, Rachel. I'm begging you. Show me some mercy.**

Rachel just laughs to herself as she reads the pleading text messages. It's cute how Finn thinks she'll back down easily.

After making her way up the twenty floors in the elevator to the top floor she marches into his office towards the back, hanging up Finn's dry cleaned suits and ignoring the child like pout he's sporting while sitting in his chair, feet propped up on the desk.

"No burger?"

Her eyebrows furrow.

"I told you 'no', didn't I?"

"Yeah, but I thought you'd make me eat your vegan shit then reward me for doing so."

She laughs humorlessly and pushes his feet off the desk.

"You'll scuff the wood. Also, I will not reward you for taking care of yourself by buying you a greasy, artery clogging, heart attack causing burger. And it isn't vegan if there was turkey in it. Learn the difference."

Finn rolls his eyes.

"Dramatic much?"

She notices him watching her as she walks over to the plants on the window sill and spritzes them with a spray water bottle.

"I'm sorry, Finn. I'm sorry for looking out for you and making sure you live past 40."

"I'm pretty sure my 24 year old heart can take it." He says, a grin spreading across his face.

"Yeah, well you can eat whatever you want at home. But as long as you're here with me, you're eating whatever I bring you. It isn't like you bring your own lunch anyways."

"I don't remember that being in your job description." He grumbles.

Rachel turns around and gives him a dirty look.

"Well, looks like I'm doing a lot of things that aren't in the job description. Aren't I?"

Finn just sits there looking confused for a couple seconds.

"What?"

She slams the spray bottle down on to a shelf.

"Picking out birthday gifts for your mother and Kurt. Canceling dates at the last minute for you and dealing with the poor idiot girls that agreed to go out with you. Also, that one time just a week after I started you asked me to call up all the girls you had been with that month because you forgot your favorite watch at one of their apartments. Oh! And don't forget this morning when you asked if I could buy you condoms, which I absolutely refused to do! So excuse me if in exchange for all the horrendous things you have me do, I have you take care of yourself and not treat your body like a garbage disposal."

Finn throws his head back and groans loudly.

"God, you can be such a pain in the ass you know. 'Horrendous things'? You act like I had you bury a body for me or something. If you weren't so damn good at your job I probably would have fired you already."

She puts her hand on her hip and glares at him.

"Oh really?"

He counters back with his own glare or at least his poor attempt at one.

"Really."

"I'd love to see what you'd do without me. Three months on the job and I know I'm already a necessary asset to you and this company. Also, Kurt would never let you fire me."

Finn slowly gets up and stands inches away from her, arms crossed, head leaning down towards hers. His cocky side grin on full display. She can smell the musky scent radiating off him. It was so…manly, intoxicating even. She almost couldn't focus on anything he was saying.

"There's just one thing, Rachel. Kurt isn't the boss. I am."

Rachel holds his stare. Whiskey, amber eyes boring into her deep, russet brown ones. She imitates his stance and crosses her arms ignoring the fact that his assertive attitude was slightly attractive. Maybe more than slightly.

"So, what? You're going to fire me?"

She stands there challenging him, not even flinching at his intimidating height or broad shoulders.

"No. But you're going home. Right now."

At that he walks away from her and sits back down at his desk, logging in to his computer.

She is so confused then becomes very worried that he might be having a stroke. His terrible eating habits are finally catching up to him, she knew it!

"Excuse me? I'm going home? Oh my god, it's actually happening. Quick, what's that acronym people use to check if someone had a stroke? FACE, FACT, FAD? Oh! FAST! Finn, let me see your face really quick and move your arm."

Finn looks at her weirdly and slaps her hands away that keep trying to grab at his cheeks.

"What are you- Stop! Rach! I'm not having a stroke! And yes. You have the rest of the day off. I'm gonna show you AND Kurt that I don't need you here at all times. So go home and come back tomorrow morning."

She just scoffs and tries her hardest to not stomp her foot.

"But it's only three in the afternoon! You have a meeting in an hour and we need to work on the quarterly budget for GQ. There's no way you can do that without me."

This time he doesn't even bother looking up at her anymore. He just replies while continuing to type on his keyboard.

"I can and I will. I'll see you tomorrow, Rachel."

"But-"

"_Goodbye Rachel._ Don't make me call security." He looks up once more and points his head towards the door.

He's serious and she can't believe it. Finn Hudson is actually being serious and taking charge.

With a final huff she grabs her bag and coat and walks out, phone in hand already typing a text message to her roommate.

_Hey, Blaine! Turns out I have the rest of the day off, so I'm going home and washing off this terrible day in the shower. Want to get drinks after you get off work? I don't think I can wait for dinner. I need to let off some steam._

* * *

><p>"And then he told me to go <em>home<em>! Can you believe that? He sent me home just like that, the son of a bitch."

Rachel swirled the wine in her glass before taking another drink.

"Whoa there. Swearing already? Looks like Tipsy Rachel is starting to make her appearance and it's not even 6pm." Blaine says, laughing.

"I'm not tipsy! Just slightly buzzed is all. You'd swear too if you had to deal with what I do every day."

"Then why don't you look for another job? Looks like you've gained enough experience in three months that could count for a lot. I'm sure being the assistant of the C.E.O. of one of the richest and affluent publishing companies in the country would get you plenty of offers."

He waves over at a waiter asking for another round.

"One of the partners at my firm is looking for a secretary; I can put in a good word for you if you want."

"No. I can't just leave, it'll look like I give up and that means Finn will win!" She says, her eyes wide and slightly crazed. "I'll stick it out until he either fires me or he admits that I'm the best assistant in all of New York City! Then after he says that I'll render my resignation then walk the hell out of there! He can buy his own damn condoms. Though I would miss Sugar, she was the only little bit of sunshine in that tower of terror."

Blaine nearly snorts from laughing so hard.

"Oh my god, I forgot how much more dramatic you get when you drink. This is great."

Rachel balls up a napkin and throws it at his head.

"Are you laughing at my misery?!"

"No. Just being a little bit entertained by it."

"Just you wait. Karma is a relentless bitch and she's going to destroy Finn Hudson."

Blaine scrunches his eyebrows.

"Wait, since when is karma a girl? Or a human at all?"

"Hold that thought, Blainey. I need to go to the restroom. My bladder can only hold so many glasses of wine. We'll continue this important discussion when I return."

"Ok, as long as you never call me Blainey again. Ever."

She giggles and pats his cheek.

"Oh, Blainey. Not a chance. Be right back!"

Rachel takes her time in the bathroom, touching up her makeup, taming any frizz in her hair, and practicing a few red carpet poses in the mirror she will never be able to use in real life.

After perfecting her signature 'over the left shoulder' pose she decides to walk back to their table only to see that her seat is taken. A man in fact, is sitting in her chair but since his back is facing her she can't see his face.

"Ummm…excuse me?"

The man turns around and she is pleasantly surprised to find her boss' step brother.

"Kurt!" They both squeal like school girls and wrap their arms around each other.

"Rachel! It's so good to run into you! And your friend as well."

She does not miss the slight blush and weird affectionate tone in his voice as he says that last part.

"Oh my goodness, this is perfect! A night out with two of my current favorite people! Hey, waitress! Can you get a drink for my dear friend here?"

She walks to a nearby table and drags an empty chair to their spot and wraps an arm around Kurt's shoulder.

"Drink up! Tonight is all about trashing people you hate and not giving a fuck!"

Kurt's eyes widen at her language and looks over to Blaine who just smiles and raises his glass.

"I'd like you to meet Tipsy Rachel. She has the mouth of a sailor and claims that everything tastes like pink. Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

Suddenly a loud buzzing sound can be heard, making the table shake faintly.

"Oh my god you guys, I think that's an earthquake!"

Kurt laughs and points towards Rachel's phone.

"Not quite, sweetie. I think you just got a phone call. Answer it!"

Rachel picks up her phone and glances at the caller I.D. then gasps.

"It's Finn! The bastard is calling!"

Kurt tilts his head in confusion.

"The Bastard? Did I miss something?"

Blaine chuckles and takes a sip from his drink.

"Your brother is now the bane of Rachel's existence."

"Huh. Welcome to my life."

Rachel's phone keeps buzzing and buzzing while she just stares at it.

"Just answer it. Maybe it's important."

"No! He said he didn't need me so he's just going to have to deal with what he caused."

Kurt gives Blaine an amused look, finding Rachel's stubborn personality quite comical.

"But if you think about it, Finn calling you means HE is giving in. It means he needs you. Therefore he loses this weird game going on in your mind."

She taps her chin a few times, thinking over Kurt's words.

"You're right. This shows weakness…I WIN!" She immediately grabs her phone and answers the phone call.

"I WIN!"

"…uh, what?"

"You called, so I win. You do need me."

"Look, Rachel, something came up and you have to come back to the office. I know I sent you home but I just really…"

"Go on. Say it, Finn."

"I…need…someone to come in to the office and help me. Like right now."

"Do you even know what time it is, Finn? It's six o'clock in the evening and I'm on my third glass of wine. There's no way I'm going back to work, especially after you sent me home early."

She hears him grumble under his breath and shuffle around papers.

"God damnit. Fine. I need you, Rachel. I need my assistant right now cause one of our biggest magazines is about to go out of business unless we think of a way to save it. Now get your ass over here immediately."

"Wait, what? What are you talking about?"

"I'll explain it to you when you get here. Hurry up."

Rachel is startled when he ends the conversation and she's left listening to a dial tone. She instantly starts gathering her things, her wine buzz quickly disappearing being replaced with worry.

"I'm so sorry Blaine, but I'm going to have to bail on our dinner. I have to go back to work, there's some kind of magazine crisis going on."

When she notices a lack of response from Blaine she looks up and sees him and Kurt huddled together giggling like school children about god knows what. They didn't even hear her.

"Ummm…guys. Guys!"

"Oh, Rachel! Sorry, Kurt was telling me a funny story that happened at work. Tell her, Kurt. It's hilarious, you're so good at telling stories."

She has never seen Blaine look so smitten over someone. His cheeks all red from blushing. Or drinking. Or both.

"Maybe next time. I really have to go back to work. But I'll see you later at home, ok? Sorry for cutting our night short."

"Don't worry about it. We'll be fine." Blaine says, not even looking in her direction, too captivated by Kurt.

She just shakes her head and laughs then heads out of the restaurant, stopping at the curb to hail a cab.

* * *

><p>"Ok, Hudson. Where's the fire?"<p>

Finn looks up from the piles of folders and binders at his desk, looking completely overwhelmed. His hair is all disheveled probably from running his hands through it so much, his tie had been loosened and the first two buttons of his blue dress shirt were undone and the sleeves were rolled up. She sensed that the past few hours have been nothing short of stressful.

"Thank god you're finally here! Jesus, how slow was that cab driver going?"

She takes off her jacket and puts down her things on an armchair roughly, agitated by his sharp tone.

"Sorry, there was a lot of traffic. I even had him drop me off two blocks away 'cause it would've been faster for me to just walk the last stretch. So you're welcome. I nearly got one of my heels stuck in a grate running over here."

He seemed to have realized his error and managed to look apologetic.

"Sorry. Thanks for doing that. But seriously, there's a bit of a shit storm brewing right now and it looks like we're the ones to stop it."

"Ok, what's going on?"

"So I was working on the quarterly budget for GQ when I noticed some low numbers, which lead me to their quarterly profits and their annual projections from the past few years. Then I saw it. I kept running the numbers in the calculator over and over thinking it was a mistake. But it's not."

Rachel, more confused than ever, walks over to his desk and sits down.

"Finn, you're not making sense. What did you see? What are you right about?"

He takes a deep breath and hands her a notebook opened to a sheet full of numbers and dollar signs, several numbers crossed out and others circled with bright red circles.

"They're going bankrupt and they didn't even notice."

She freezes.

"What?"

"Yeah. They have like two quarters left, tops. Six months and they're done."

She rifles through more papers on his desk and sees a bunch of pie charts and bar graphs and even more numbers.

"How? How did this happen? They seem so successful. I mean, aren't they?"

"They are, or were, for a men's fashion magazine. But I guess guys aren't really buying these anymore. Looks like they've been spending more than they should on extravagant photo shoots and on all the A-list actors they can get their hands on without noticing that their piggy bank is almost empty."

"So now we have to find a plan that'll cut costs yet increase their profits to avoid bankruptcy."

Finn runs his fingers through his thick, messy hair for what seems like the millionth time.

"Exactly."

When she goes through her bag to grab her phone a thought appears in her mind and she looks up at Finn.

"Wait. Why isn't the magazine staff here? Shouldn't they be dealing with this?"

"Yeah, but the editor in chief is on vacation and I can't seem to get a hold of anyone else, they all managed to fucking fall off the face of the Earth so it's pretty much up to us right now. We, as the publishing company, can't just leave it like this."

Rachel closes her eyes, breathes in deeply and lets out the air slowly.

"Ok. This is ok. We can do this."

She gets up and stands directly in front of his desk with her hands on her hips, a look of intense determination on her face.

"I need pens, a calculator, post it notes, a notebook, at least three different colored highlighters, and coffee STAT!"

Finn can't help but laugh for a second.

"Are you a doctor all of a sudden? There's a fresh pot of coffee over by the mini fridge."

Minutes later after they're both settled side by side at the desk, cups of coffee at hand, they look at the stacks of binders and office supplies in front of them.

"So we need to brainstorm a way to save this magazine and form it into a valid plan that we can pitch to the board members," she glances at her watch, "And we have 15 hours before the quarterly budget meeting takes place. No pressure."

"Yeah…no pressure."

* * *

><p><strong>*10 HOURS LATER*<strong>

"Finn. It's your turn to get more toffee."

He lifts his head off his desk and looks at her confusedly.

"Toffee? You mean coffee? And I went last time."

"Ugh. It's 4:30 in the morning right now, don't blame me if I can't speak right. Also, I got coffee the first two times. So GO!"

Finn just manages to adjust himself in to a more comfortable position in his arm chair.

"Mmmm. This chair is too comfy. I'll go in a –"

After several seconds of silence Rachel looks over to where he is at and throws a pen at him.

"No! You will not fall asleep on me Finn Hudson! We have _five hours_ left and we have nothing except for about five hundred balled up pieces of paper, ten empty cups of coffee, and a blank whiteboard!"

He throws back the pen she aimed at him which she playfully swats away.

"I feel like my brain is fried. Is that possible? To think so much that your brain just…breaks?"

"I don't think so."

Finn stands up and stretches up his arms over his head, causing his un-tucked shirt to ride up and reveal a sliver of skin above the waist band of his slacks. Rachel tears her eyes away, her cheeks burning at the sight.

"God, I feel like it's right under our nose. Like the solution is right in front of us but we're over thinking it too much to notice." He walks over to the window overlooking the city and stares out at the buildings and at the pedestrians navigating the streets in the early morning light. "My nightmares are coming true. I'm really screwing this up. Just like they all thought."

Rachel looks at him confusedly.

"Finn, what are you talking about? See, this is why we need coffee."

He grabs a small basketball toy sitting on a shelf and starts squeezing it in his hands.

"Do you know why I spent so many years just acting stupid and drinking and why I wasted away all those college years partying and throwing all my parents money down the drain?"

She silently shakes her head, not knowing where he was going with this but shocked at his serious tone.

"So I could avoid all of this," he waves his hands around him. "So that I wouldn't have to live up to my dad's legacy and disappoint everyone."

"Oh, Finn. You're not-"

He puts his hand up silencing her.

"No. You don't know, Rach. You didn't know him. My dad was a good man. The best. He was born to be an entrepreneur and lead an empire like this. He had so many colleagues that spoke wonders of him and he donated buildings to colleges and entire wings to hospitals in the city. Hell, he was featured in Forbes magazine as one of the top business men in the nation a dozen times. This whole damn country admired him!"

Finn sits back down in his chair beside her.

"When he died it was tough, yeah, but then everyone looked to me. Already picturing me as the next head of the Hudson empire. The next cover of Forbes. Do you know how fucking terrifying that is? How am I supposed to follow up all that? How am I supposed to fill my father's shoes?"

He runs his fingers through his hair once again. She quietly wonders how it hasn't fallen out by now before he begins speaking again.

"I was scared. So I started to just act stupid in high school and all throughout college in hopes that after I graduated the board would see that I wasn't fit for the job, that I was too much of a risk. But nope. Graduation day came and I got my degree that I somehow bull shit my way through along with a letter stating the effective date of my new position at the company. I'm pretty sure I spent that whole weekend drunk out of my mind, but not in celebration like everyone else thought."

Her heart begins to break a little bit seeing Finn so vulnerable and defeated.

"I'm sure it's just self-doubt. That's perfectly normal, Finn."

He shakes his head.

"No. I was terrible my first few months. I hardly got anything done, I slept with half of the girls in the building, came in late all the time, but did they fire me? No way. Instead I got you, assistant extraordinaire. So that's when I finally accepted it. I accepted the fact that I'm here and that I am my father's successor and that my job is to lead this company and lead it successfully like he did and I've failed to do that already. I actually try to do my job and bust my ass at it and I completely failed. One of the country's biggest men's fashion magazines is going bankrupt, making us lose millions of dollars. And it's all on my watch."

He places both elbows on his knees and rests his head in his hands, completely defeated. Seeing this new side of Finn pulls at her heart strings as she kneels down by his side and rubs his knees softly, hoping it will comfort him.

"Oh, Finn. You haven't failed. This is obviously bad financial management on the magazine's part and it wasn't your fault. This probably started before you were even appointed C.E.O. and you're just the first to notice. There's a solution to this, I just know it and we're going to figure it out together. That's what I'm here for. But you have to stop putting so much pressure on yourself, ok? Yes, your father was a great man from what I've read and what I've been told. He built this great company, donated many things, and helped raise you. But _no one_ expects you to be just like him. You are great in your own way. It's true, we have spent the better part of the past few months bickering and butting heads about everything but despite all that, I truly believe you can be great at this. I believe you can be a great leader, Finn. That's why I get so frustrated with you, because you have so much potential, a truly incredible amount, but you choose to waste it."

He looks up at her, the side of his mouth softly curling up into a small grin.

"You really believe in me that much?"

She nods.

"You are not your father and no one expects you to be. And if anyone expects you to be like him, well they can go to hell."

He starts to laugh.

"Did you just say 'hell'?"

She smiles and shoves his arm a bit.

"I prefer to save that kind of language for when it's necessary and also for the occasional dramatic effect."

"Well, for what it's worth, thank you Rachel. All that stuff you said, it means a lot to me. I don't wanna sound cheesy or anything but, no one's ever said that to me before. That they believe in me and stuff."

Rachel reaches over and squeezes his forearm.

"I meant every word."

They both somehow just keep staring at each other, caught in some kind of trance before Finn snaps out of it and breaks the silence.

"You wanna go down the block to get some coffee and bagels? My treat. Maybe that'll boost our brainstorming skills."

She nods her head and gets up to grab her jacket and purse.

"Sounds good!"

As they walk side by side down the dark empty hallways of the building she looks up at him and smiles.

"You know, you're not so bad Finn Hudson."

He looks over at her and grins, bumping his hip against hers.

"You're not so bad yourself, Rachel Berry."

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you guys liked it! <strong>

**Feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think! **

**I've got about half of the next chapter written, hopefully i'll be able to get that finished soon.**

**And if I start to take too long to update and you want to yell at me for it you can also leave me a message on tumblr. My URL is the same as my FF username. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**I know, i know. It's been ages since my last update, but don't think I forgot about this story (or my other one). I just needed to take a hiatus from all things Glee for a while and focus on other things. Last week i decided that my hiatus has gone on long enough and it was time to get back to writing and finish this chapter that I started over a year ago. I appreciate all the kind messages and reviews I've received and I encourage them as they really do wonders for my writer's block and motivation. :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Finn collapses into his large, leather arm chair completely exhausted. He can't believe it, he actually did something great. The past twenty four hours had been such a whirlwind, he could hardly believe he survived it and managed to not screw up royally, plus the board was incredibly impressed with it all. He remembers being so goddamn nervous standing in front of them, pretending like he had everything in control…<p>

"_So by making the magazine app based via subscription and printing a limited amount of copies for subscribers or for single copy sales that customers can order through the magazine site, your company will save approximately half a million dollars per quarter. That's two million dollars a year saved and the estimated profit using this projection is at least sixty percent per quarter."_

_He passes folders to every board member and executive seated at the table._

"_I would ask for any other suggestions, but honestly this is the only viable plan. Considering the fact that your own finance department failed to notice this crucial issue, I don't trust your opinions. I'm proud of the plan my assistant and I came up with after brainstorming for the past twelve hours and I expect you all to sign off on the new publishing terms. What do you say, gentlemen?"_

_A long moment of silence fills the room which causes Finn's hands to get all sweaty as he begins to see his career as well as his father's legacy crumble before his very eyes until the man seated at the end of the table clears his throat._

"_Well, looks like you saved a sinking ship Mr. Hudson. Let's sign on the dotted lines, everyone."_

_All the men in suits then proceeded to pick up their pens and sign the papers in front of them, getting up from their seats after they finished and filing out of the room._

At that very moment, Finn remembers feeling like he just about passed out. He couldn't believe it. No one protested even a little bit or asked any questions. They had just signed and accepted the plan _he _had proposed. A plan that would completely change the way an iconic magazine worked. Yeah, Rachel was definitely getting a raise or a Rolex or something. Maybe some designer animal sweater? She'd like that, right? He'll have to ask Kurt about it.

All of this is kind of the first big stepping stone in his career. A defining moment as he follows his father's footsteps. His mind suddenly flits to his encounter with GQ's editor in chief after their meeting that morning…

"_By the way Mr. Hudson, I'll have nothing but good things to say about you when the press asks for my statement. Your father would be proud."_

_Finn is left speechless for a moment._

"_Wait…the press? What does the press have anything to do with this?"_

_Mr. Nelson smiles and pats him on the back as they start to walk out of the conference room together._

"_The press has everything to do with everything in this town, Mr. Hudson. You should know, you're part of it. I've already gotten a few emails saying that some journalists have already caught wind of GQ's pending bankruptcy; someone probably leaked the information this morning. I guarantee that The Post and The New York Times will be calling my office in about two hours trying to get a statement about it. I have no doubt your office will be getting its share of calls from reporters as well."_

_Finn's face quickly turns into one of slight panic._

"_Don't worry. You did well, Mr. Hudson. Very well. I know you're more than half the age of all those men that were sitting in that meeting as well as myself, but you proved your worth today. I know it must not be easy taking over such a great company and continuing the legacy of such a great man. I'm sure you must feel the pressure, but you're starting to hit your stride. I have a feeling great things are in store for you."_

He'll never forget those words and that feeling of immense joy knowing that people were starting to see his potential. First Rachel and now Mr. Nelson, a well accomplished and successful man. He wanted nothing more than to continue to prove them right.

But right now? Honestly, all he wants to do is go home and sleep for three days. However, that'd be impossible considering he has loads of paperwork to fill out in order to finalize this new publishing contract with GQ. Maybe a quick little nap at his desk to refresh himself would do the trick.

Right as he puts his feet on his desk and closes his eyes, the door to his office bursts open and a colorful blur of heightened energy and coffee passes through the room and stops at his desk.

"Oh. My. God. Finn! I come in thinking it's just a normal Tuesday, checking in on my brother but then Sugar tells me you had a huge crisis yesterday and worked through the night with Rachel, and _THEN_ had a huge meeting with the board members and re-drafted a brand spanking new publishing contract with GQ to save their sorry irresponsible asses. That's fucking incredible!"

Finn just stares, trying to catch up with the long run-on sentence.

"Good morning to you too, Kurt. Do one of those coffees happen to belong to me?"

"But of course!"

Kurt hands him a hot cup of bitter liquid energy that he proceeds to gulp down as best he can without burning his throat.

"Easy there, big guy. The coffee's not going anywhere."

"I can't. I need the fuel. I haven't slept in more than 24 hours and I can already feel myself starting to shut down. I have too much to do before I can let that happen."

Kurt sets down his things on the desk then sits on one of the leather arm chairs across from Finn's desk, crossing his legs.

"So, are you going to tell me how it went?"

Finn gives Kurt a very confused look.

"How what went?"

"Working with Rachel in this room for fifteen hours straight?"

He rolls his eyes.

"It was work, Kurt. We worked."

"Come on! You two are like cats and dogs. When Sugar told me about last night, I half expected one of you to be dead in your office and the other arrested for murder."

"We are not that bad. We just have different opinions sometimes, that's all."

Kurt scoffs.

"That's putting it lightly."

Suddenly, Rachel walks through the door with brown paper bags walking straight to him.

"Hey, Finn. I brought you some breakfast since the only thing we've consumed since yesterday evening is coffee and a bagel so I figured you needed something to put in your stomach after this morning's big meeting." She hands him one of the bags which smells so good his mouth starts to water. "Two sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches. Just how you like it."

He rips open the bag and pulls out one of the sandwiches and stares at it like a starved man.

"Meat _and_ greasy cheese?"

"Consider it a well-deserved treat after all your hard work last night." She says, smiling.

"Thanks, Rach. I appreciate it."

Kurt sits there observing them, clearly being ignored. So he decides to clear his throat and ruin their moment.

"So I take it last night went well?"

Rachel nearly jumps out of her skin.

"Oh! Hi, Kurt! I didn't see you there, I'm sorry. How are you today?"

"Fine and dandy. So, I hear you two are quite the dynamic duo now."

Her cheeks flush.

"I guess you could say we make a good team. Though Finn deserves most of the credit, really. I just helped a bit putting the ideas together a bit but he turned all of the ideas into an actual document and presentation ."

"Helped a bit?" Finn laughs. "You kicked ass! I honestly couldn't have done it without you, Rach."

She laughs along with him.

"A team effort then."

She looks at her watch then a look of panic washes over her face.

"Damnit! I have to go. I promised Blaine that I'd go to lunch with him today since I ditched him last night. Oh! By the way, how did it go, Kurt?"

Finn looks over at Kurt and notices that his ears are burning.

"Oh, umm, it was fine. You know, same ol' thing. Drinks, appetizers, meaningless chat. I had to get up early today so I only was able to stay for about an hour or so longer after you had left."

Rachel beams.

"I'm glad it went well! Maybe you can join us again sometime, a fun night out as a group!"

"Definitely! Text me when you have a date in mind. Bye!"

After Rachel walks out of the room and closes the door, Finn turns and faces Kurt with a big shit eating grin.

"You guys hooked up."

His brother's eyes widen and his face turns into a brighter shade of red.

"Wha-what? I did no- I don't know what you're talking about. How did- Why would you say that?"

"Are you kidding me? You are the worst at hiding it! It's all over your face and you're clearly flustered. She may have not noticed but you forget that we've been brothers for nearly eight years and I know you better than anyone. Also, you're wearing a scarf and it's like 70 degrees in this room."

Kurt doesn't even try to deny it anymore.

"Okay, fine! We hooked up and it was amazing! But I just don't want Rachel to know until we figure out where this is going. I don't want to jinx it or anything."

Satisfied with the confession, Finn leans back in his chair and takes a bite from his sandwich.

"It's cool, dude. Your mission has been accomplished. You got her to work here and you got a date with her roommate. Win-win situation."

It's Kurt's turn to wear the shit eating grin.

"You mean win-win-win situation. You got a great assistant, I got a date, and you get a potential date as well with said assistant."

Finn groans.

"Now you got _that_ idea in your head? Kurt, seriously, you gotta stop with the meddling."

"What?" Kurt asks indignantly. "I don't meddle! I simply take interest in your life, Finn. You're my only sibling so obviously I care about any budding relationships that you may have."

Finn takes another sip from his coffee and glares at his brother.

"Take interest? That's the understatement of the century. Ever since we were sixteen, you have always either tried to set me up with girls, take control of my dates, or attempted to end my relationships if you didn't approve of them. Just admit it, say it loud and proud: You're a meddler."

Kurt gasps.

"I only tried to break up your relationship _once_ and it was with that horrendous girl Suzy Pepper during junior year of high school. You were so oblivious to her crazy obsessive fixation on you, it was creepy. I swear she had a shrine of you in her closet or something. She was like one meltdown away from a trip to the psychiatric ward."

"Your imagination is insane. How about Kitty? You totally ran her off, I'm pretty sure you made her cry too even."

"Kitty? Your first college girlfriend? Are you serious? Finn, she was a total gold digger! Remember the first time you brought her home, all she talked about was how beautiful our penthouse was and that she's always wanted to live in one. She even asked Carol how much money you inherited after you turned 18."

"Everyone in the city wanted to know that. It was a common question."

"She asked if there was a family ring she could look at and try on."

"Yeah…maybe she was kind of a gold digger. Okay, fine. Thank you for running off Kitty, but you always have to stick your nose in my business and this is literally my business. Rachel is my assistant who is amazing at her job and I enjoy working with her. There's nothing else to it. Any romantic feelings you speak of are completely fabricated in your mind. So please, butt out."

Kurt finishes off his coffee and starts to gather his things.

"Fine, even though I think you are deliberately ignoring the blazing chemistry between you two and that I will be saying 'I told you so' in about six months, I will drop it."

At that, a knock interrupts the two brothers.

A young blonde woman stands at the door wearing a much too short pencil skirt and a button up blouse that she did not bother to actually button all the way up.

"Excuse me Mr. Hudson, I need some assistance in the printer room. There are some things I can't reach; can you come help me please?"

"Sorry, I'm really busy right now. There's a step stool under the counter if you need it."

The girl lets out a huff and walks away, clearly miffed at him blowing her off. As he goes back to typing on his computer Kurt gives him a bewildered look.

"Oh my god."

Finn looks up, completely oblivious to what just happened.

"What?"

"You just said no to that bimbo."

"I'm busy, you know that."

"No, no, no. you didn't pass on helping her you passed on hooking up with her in the printer room. You said no to a beautiful girl who actively just propositioned you! Oh my god, did you have a stroke? Quick, raise both of your arms and smile!" Kurt launches towards him and tries to grab his arms.

"What the hell? No! Kurt, stop it! I'm not having a stroke! Why is that the first thing you and Rachel think when I do something I don't usually do?"

"Because it's completely out of character!"

"I'll have you know that I haven't hooked up with any of my employees for 4 months and I don't plan to anymore. I'm trying to be more professional."

"So what you're saying is that you haven't hooked up with anyone here since Rachel started?"

"Pretty much, yeah. WAIT! No! I know what you're trying to say. No, Kurt."

"I knew it!"

"No! What I'm trying to say is: yes, ever since Rachel started here I haven't been with any of the girls here _because _she's helped me learn how to act more professional. I'm trying to take my job more seriously and I can't do that if I'm sleeping with all the women in my building."

Kurt rolls his eyes.

"I've been trying to tell you that ever since you started with this job. Now that _Rachel_ tells you, you choose to listen?"

"That's because she isn't my overprotective mom or my overbearing brother. People tend to listen to others who aren't part of their own immediate circle. Plus she actively helps me in making these changes, not just nags me about it."

"Whatever, be in denial. I gotta go, I have a meeting in 20 minutes. I'll see you tonight at dinner, and remember: six months, Finn. Six months and I'll be saying 'I told you so'."

"You can leave now, Kurt. Oh, and tell mom I might be running about 10 minutes late because I want to drop by Puck's really quick and pick up a couple bottles of wine for dinner. He just got a really good shipment in from France."

"Will do." At that, Kurt starts to walk out the door, but not before popping his head back in and yelling one more time, "SIX MONTHS!"

Finn chucks a pen towards the doorway.

"GO AWAY."

He looks up at the clock and notices that it's only 11:30am and he has a stack of papers to sign off on plus more paperwork to finalize the new GQ contract. He kind of regrets letting Rachel go home early, he could really use her help. He takes a long drink from his coffee mug and picks up his pen. It's gonna be a long day.

* * *

><p>The last 6 hours went by at a snail's pace but Finn managed to get all his work done and everything signed. He steps inside the town car waiting for him outside then asks Frank, his driver, to take him to Puck's apartment on the Upper East Side.<p>

Being so busy with the company he hasn't had any time to spare to hang out with any of his friends. Who knew taking over a company was so time consuming? When Puck texted him that morning asking if he wanted a case of top of the line wine he had shipped in from overseas Finn had jumped at the chance of seeing his childhood friend again.

He arrives at the grand apartment building right across from his own on the other side of Central Park and he gets let in by the doorman and quickly makes his way up on the elevator to the 20th floor, the elevator doors opening directly into Puck's apartment.

"Yo, douchebag!"

"In the living room, ass wipe!"

Finn makes his way through the apartment, glancing at the family pictures hanging on the wall, the large paintings adorning the hallways, all the mementos he remembers from when he was a kid. The Puckerman's apartment was like a second home to him growing up after meeting Puck at prep school but he hadn't been here in so long it seems like a lifetime ago.

Upon seeing his best friend on the couch watching Sports Center he plops down right next to him and puts his feet up on the coffee table.

"Sup, man."

"Sup, dude. How's the C.E.O. life treating ya?"

"Alright. Kind of been a kick in the ass but I'm dealing. How about you? You working for your dad already or are you on a post college break?"

"Yeah, I'm taking a break for a year or so. Don't want to jump right into work after spending 4 years at school, ya know? Gotta give this brain time to heal."

Finn rolls his eyes.

"You barely studied in school."

"Hey, I woke up for a lot of those 10am classes. It's not easy, man. Though I'm thinking of starting work sooner than anticipated, I've kind of blown through most of the money in my trust already."

"How the hell did you do _that?_? Were you buying entire city blocks or something?"

"You know I've never been good with money."

"Your dad founded an international multi-billion dollar investment bank. You'd think you'd know how."

"Whatever, dude. Your dad owned a publishing company, when was the last time you read anything?"

He remains silent.

"That's right. Shut the hell up. Anyways, Kurt tells me you got a tight ass for an assistant. You hooked up with her yet?"

"What? He told you? Since when do you hang out with Kurt?"

"Hey! Hummel's like my little brother too, why can't I talk to him every now and then? And I saw him at this gallery showing a few weeks ago that my mom hosted. He kind of filled me in on the last few months."

"Yeah, well he tends to exaggerate. You know that."

"He didn't really seem to be exaggerating much this time. So you really got a hard-on for this chick? Has she been _"assisting"_ you?"

Finn takes a throw pillow from the couch and launches it at Puck's head.

"Shut up, man. I have not and will not hook up with her. Ever. She's my assistant and a kick ass one at that. If it weren't for her I would've probably already lost control of the company. Hooking up would just ruin things. Plus she's batshit crazy. No joke."

"But you're into crazy. Need I bring up all the fucking insane girls you've been with? That's like, your MO."

"Fuck you. The point is: it's not happening. No matter how hot she looks in those skirts…or how cute she is when she gets all pissed off…or how passionate she gets about anything she puts her mind to…"

Puck stares at him for a minute as he trails off and ends up staring off into space, lost in his thoughts. He snaps his fingers to get his attention.

"Hey! Earth to moron!"

"Huh? Oh. Sorry, I was just thinking about…work stuff."

"Yeah, like the girl who helps you at _work_? God, you're so obvious. See, _this_ is why I beat you at poker all the time. You suck at lying, man."

"Screw you, dude."

"No, screw _her_."

"You're an idiot. I can't and I'm not."

Puck grins at him.

"I give you a month, two months tops before you end up in bed with her. 5 thousand dollars if you lose?"

"Dude, I'm not betting on whether I'm gonna sleep with her or not."

"I'm just saying what's gonna happen. If you're really so set on turning over this new leaf or whatever the hell you're doing then just keep going and in two months you'll have a few extra grand sitting in your pocket. You can buy a painting for your mom or something since you owe her one."

"Dude! That was your entire fault you douchebag! If you hadn't shoved me nothing would've happened."

"Let bygones be bygones, is what I say. So, do we have a deal?"

Finn thinks about it for a moment then sticks his fist out towards Puck.

"Deal. You better start your job soon or you're going to have to ask your dad to transfer some more money into your account cause you're gonna be paying up."

"You keep thinking that, bro. 'Cause either one of two things are gonna happen: you're gonna sleep with her within the next two months and owe me five thousand dollars or you're gonna sleep with her within the next two months, owe me 5 thousand dollars, _and_ you're gonna _keep_ sleeping with her and actually be in a relationship."

Finn shakes his head and stands up, walking towards the wine cellar room.

"Not gonna let that happen. I'm not that weak willed."

He walks back out holding a couple bottles of wine.

"I'm going to prove you all wrong and I'm going to get those five thousand bucks."

"You keep telling yourself that, man."

"I will. I gotta get going though, my mom wants to have a family dinner today. See you later, dude."

"Alright, man. Take it easy. Let me know when you finally break and go for it."

Finn flips him off over his shoulder as he leaves the apartment.

* * *

><p>He gets off the elevator at his family's penthouse and hears the laughter of several people coming from the living room, one voice sounding extremely familiar. Intrigued, he makes his way through the apartment, jaw dropping when he enters the room and sees his mother, brother, and <em>Rachel<em> sitting on the couch laughing like old friends.

"Rachel?"

All three heads turn towards him.

"Finn! Hi! I just came by to drop off something for you but then your mother was here and we lost track of time."

"Oh, Finny! I can't believe it took this long for me to meet Rachel. My sides hurt from laughing so much! You have to bring her around the apartment more often."

"Yes, Finn. You _have_ to have her around more often." Kurt says mischievously.

"Uhh, yeah. Sorry. I guess the opportunity of you guys meeting hadn't presented itself yet, until now I guess. Which is because…"

"Oh! Right! Well, Mr. Finn Hudson," Rachel stands and hands him a newspaper, "I'd like to present to you the first page of the business section of the Wall Street Journal."

Confused as to why she came to his home to give him a newspaper, he grabs it from her and reads the headline out loud.

"_**Hudson Publishing Saves Sinking Ship From Bankruptcy**__. _Wait…this article is from the Wall Street Journal?"

"And there's one in the New York Times, The Post, and USA Today! Isn't that incredible!? That's all because of you, Finn! That's you they're talking about."

He didn't even notice when she had put her hand on his shoulder but suddenly she was standing right next to him with that megawatt smile of hers, looking so damn proud and happy. Her eyes all wide and bright, she was looking at him like he had hung the goddamn moon. All of a sudden he feels some sort of warmth filling up his chest, along with a weird feeling in his stomach. For a few seconds all he can focus on is her full lips, he's never noticed how pink they were before.

He's snapped out of his thoughts by two familiar arms hugging him from behind.

"Oh, Finny! I'm so happy for you. I knew you'd do well!"

"Thanks, Mom." He says, hugging her back tightly.

She makes her away around him and reaches up to grab his face in her hands and looks him in the eye, tears welling up in her own.

"Your father would be so incredibly proud."

It takes everything in him to fight the lump in his throat and not cry like a little boy in his mother's arms. Instead, he just gives her a tight hug and whispers in her ear.

"Thanks, mom. I love you."

A loud pop reverberates throughout the room, startling the three of them. They all turn and look at Kurt who is standing in the middle of the living room, an opened bottle of Dom Perignon in one hand and four champagne flutes in the other.

"Sorry to interrupt this little love fest but I think this occasion calls for some champagne!"

He pours each of them a glass and raises his own up in the air.

"To Finn for finally getting his ass in gear and being the man we all knew he could be. To Finn!"

Rachel and his mom join in, raising their own champagne flutes and cheering along with him.

"To Finn!"

* * *

><p>Hours later, after Burt arrived to join them in the celebration and after Finn's mom convinced Rachel to stay for dinner and dessert, everyone began to trickle out slowly and excuse themselves for the night.<p>

Finn watches Rachel get up to go grab her bag in the living room so he tries to catch her before she leaves.

"Hey, Rach. Mind if I walk you out? I can tell Frank to drive you home so you can save on cab fare."

"That'd be nice. Thank you, Finn" She says, with a smile.

They step into the elevator and Finn presses the button to take them to the main floor.

"I absolutely adored your family, Finn. They're so great, not to mention hilarious. I'm pretty sure I almost peed my pants once from how hard I was laughing." She giggles.

"Yeah, they're pretty awesome. I mean, they've put up with so much of my crap yet they still love me and haven't kicked me out." He jokes.

"I know I've already said it before but thank you and your mother of course, for inviting me to stay for dinner. I really appreciate it. I don't really get to see my family a lot so it really meant a lot that yours welcomed me into their home with open arms like that."

He notices that her eyes get a little watery so he puts his hand on her shoulder, giving it a little squeeze (that's keeping it professional, right?).

"You're very welcome, Rach. It was really great having you here and joining us. It was just as much your celebration as it was mine."

They stood in comfortable silence until the elevator doors opened, leading into the lobby. Finn signals over to Frank, sitting at his desk by the entrance, who understands the gesture and walks out to the town car.

"Hey, Rach. Before you leave, I have a question for you."

"Yes?"

"So, GQ's editor in chief has invited me to dinner with him and his wife as a thank you for everything that happened. They said I could bring someone and you were kind of the first person who came to mind." He looks down at his feet, trying to hide the heat rising in his cheeks and his crimson ears.

"Do-do you want to come with me?"

He can't believe he just stuttered. What an idiot. Now she's gonna say no, he's sure of it. But when he looks up to meet her gaze he's surprised to see a warm smile on her face.

"You want me to be your date?"

"Ye-yeah…I mean, not a _date_ date, but like, I mean you were a big part of this and you're my assistant who helps me out a lot and I just think you deserve to come. So it's not a double date or anything, just a work related dinner. Purely professional."

"Right, a work dinner. Yes, of course I'd love to join you! It's such a great opportunity. Thank you, Finn. When would it take place?"

"It'll be tomorrow night at 8pm. I can pick you up at your place if you'd like."

"That sounds great! I'll pencil it into my calendar. And yours as well while I'm at it."

He chuckles.

"You would."

"Of course I would." She grins.

They stare at each other for a few lingering moments; neither noticing how long has passed until Rachel's phone goes off.

"Oops! Sorry, that's my alarm. I have to go home and feed Elphie."

Finn gives her a questioning look.

"Wait…you have a kid?"

Rachel's eyes go wide.

"No! No! I mean my cat, Elphaba! I call her Elphie for short. She's my little pride and joy but if I don't go home and feed her she'll be the thorn in my side for the rest of the night." She jokes.

"I wouldn't want Elphie to get upset then." He turns towards Frank who's waiting patiently by the car. "Hey, Frank, you mind taking Rachel home?"

"Of course not, Mr. Hudson." Frank opens the car door. "Miss Berry, whenever you're ready."

"Thank you, Frank." She looks at Finn with another one of her dazzling smiles before entering the car. "And thanks again, Finn, for the wonderful evening. I'll see you tomorrow at the office. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, Rach." He closes the door as Frank starts the car, watching as they quickly drive off into the busy Manhattan street, the smile on his face remaining long after the car disappears from his eyesight.

Then a huge realization hits him: this bet was going to be a lot harder than he thought.

Fuck.

* * *

><p><strong>Hoped you all liked it and that it was worth the wait! <strong>

**Leave a review and let me know what you think. :)**


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